Nebraska ranchers hit by Trump beef imports, tariffs — SkimNews
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- Yvette Mannon lost 1,600 grazing acres and 13 miles of fencing to an April wildfire, then paid $4.89 a foot to replace steel fencing — over $300,000 total — at prices she attributes to Trump tariffs
- The Trump administration in August announced 300,000 metric tons of duty-free foreign beef imports just before the September-November calf weaning and sale window, and the cattle market tanked immediately
- Rancher Jake Wolfinger saw cattle prices fall from $240 to $225 per hundredweight — hundreds of dollars a head lost — while his equipment burns 400 gallons of diesel a day at prices up more than 40% due to the Iran War
- Don Batie, who voted for Trump in 2016, abandoned his plan to pass on his 400-acre farm to his daughter after corn prices fell from $7 to $4.29 a bushel; he skipped Trump in 2024, citing policy disappointment
- Independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn is polling surprisingly well against Trump-backed Republican Pete Ricketts in Nebraska, where farmers say they are openly reassessing political allegiances
- Trump and Governor Jim Pillen have both announced fuel-cost relief policies in recent weeks as Republicans acknowledge farmer and rancher frustration ahead of the midterms
Why it matters: Nebraska ranchers — historic Trump allies — face simultaneous shocks: 40%+ diesel hikes from the Iran War, tariff-driven steel costs, and an August decision to import 300,000 tons of duty-free beef that crashed cattle markets during the September-November weaning window. Independent Dan Osborn is now polling competitively against Trump-backed Pete Ricketts; the administration has rolled out fuel relief, but some longtime Trump voters have already abandoned the ticket.
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