State of Texas: Trump plan to cut beef prices brings backlash from Texas cattle producers
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AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is speaking out against a proposal from President Donald Trump to increase imports of beef from Argentina to help lower prices for consumers.
"We would buy some beef from Argentina. If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down," Trump told reporters while traveling on Air Force One last weekend. The proposal could more than quadruple the amount of beef imported from Argentina to the United States.
Cattle ranchers across Texas and the U.S. have voiced concerns over the proposal, fearing that it could undermine their profits as they face higher costs.
Miller said he had a “disagreement” with President Trump on how to lower beef prices. On Thursday, Miller released his own five-point plan, with the intention of helping Texas ranchers and producers while also moving to reduce prices.
Miller said high beef prices are spurred by a low supply of cattle, which is the lowest it has been in 75 years. One priority on his list is to create a tax credit similar to the child tax credit, but with heifers instead. Heifers are young female cows that have not given birth yet.
“These cow calf producers, they’ve been making pretty decent money. They could actually use a tax credit. Take it right off their taxes. That would encourage them, and they would start keeping heifers immediately and that rebuilds our herds,” Miller said.
Another point in Miller's plan is to import live cattle from Mexico rather than “beef in a box” from Argentina. Miller claims that doing this would decrease beef prices “overnight,” but this has been complicated by the threat of the new world screwworm, a parasite that eats the flesh of cattle.
Miller said strict quarantine procedures would prevent spreading the parasite.
“Before any cattle are imported, they go to a quarantine pen. The U.S. veterinarians have to inspect every single one of them. You can give a shot of Dectomax or ivermectin, which are anti-parasitic drugs. It would kill any screw worms, if they were infected. There’s virtually no chance of bringing an animal that had screwworm infection,” Miller explained.
Cooper Little, the executive director of the Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas, said his organization does not support that bullet point of Miller’s plan because of how much destruction the parasite could cause if it does make it north of the border, like it did in the 20th century.
“Safeguarding the herd is a big thing the government can do for Texas cattleman, at this point, especially if you’re concerned with high beef prices. Let screwworm get across the border and then see how high beef prices rise,” Little said.
Election officials investigate potential noncitizens registered to vote
The Texas Secretary of State’s office announced Monday it identified 2,724 potential noncitizens who are registered to vote in the state using data from a federal database.
The list of potential noncitizens were sent to county election officials last week who are now responsible to verify the eligibility of these voters, according to election code. Seven counties had more than 100 of these potential noncitizens on the voter registration list. Those counties include:
- Collin – 109
- El Paso – 165
- Bexar – 201
- Dallas – 277
- Harris – 362
- Hidalgo – 149
- Tarrant – 145
Texas election code said county election officials must notify these potential noncitizens in written form that their voter registration is at risk of being cancelled and for them to provide proof of eligibility. That person has 30 days to respond before they are taken off the voter registration list. A person can be immediately reinstated following a cancellation if they provide proof of citizenship to an elections office or polling location.
Coast Guard launches new Rio Grande patrols, plan for new border buoys announced
The Rio Grande is seeing increased militarization as the Trump Administration seeks to exact its campaign promise of securing the border.
Perhaps the most significant signal of increased security is the deployment of the Coast Guard to the Rio Grande. The deployment, titled Operation River Wall, includes a surge of 100 Coast Guard boats.
Border Report correspondent Sandra Sanchez covered the start of the deployment. She notes that the increased Coast Guard presence is a way for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s to heighten the profile of the Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security.
“They’re really trying to show that they have maritime border security super skills, and she wants to use them to defend the border.”
Sanchez also reported on a new plan to add more giant buoys as barriers in the Rio Grande. U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday confirmed the plan.
The new buoy barriers will total 80 miles and will include 17 miles from Brownsville, Texas, to the Gulf; and two more strings of 23 miles and 40 miles in the Border Patrol’s Del Rio Sector, near the border towns of Eagle Pass and Del Rio, Texas.
The flotation devices are similar to what Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023 put in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas. However, that state-funded string was only 1,000 feet long, cost relatively less at $1 million, and all of the orange buoys are 4-feet wide.
The announcement comes days after signs were posted on different types of buoys, warning that a large span of the Rio Grande is now a military zone. The warning buoys were recently put in the water, months after the Department of Defense announced that 250 miles along the Rio Grande in the South Texas border counties of Hidalgo and Cameron were now National Defense Areas.
“Anyone crossing into this zone could face six months in prison and a hundred thousand dollar fine,” Sanchez said. "It really ups the ante down there."
Texans could lose SNAP benefits if shutdown continues
Texans are beginning to sound the alarm regarding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Plan (SNAP) benefits.
“SNAP benefits for November won’t be issued if the federal government shutdown continues past Oct. 27,” the Texas Department of State Health Services website said.
While the website stipulates that Medicaid, WIC, TANF and CHIP benefits won’t be affected, the 3.7 million Texans (roughly 11% of the population) who rely on SNAP to pay for groceries will be the first to feel the fullest and most direct effects from the federal shutdown.
Food banks are also bracing for an influx of customers after already taking on an extra load.
“We’ve already seen about a 35% increase in reliance on our services,” Sari Vatske, the President and CEO of the Central Texas Food Bank, said. “In the 21 counties that the Central Texas food bank serves alone, we have about 127,000 households that rely on SNAP assistance. Assuming the average household receives about $400 a month, we are looking at a shortfall of about $51 million a month.”
Currently, most food banks serve in a supportive role to SNAP but not as a replacement.
“[For] every 10 meals a low-income person gets, nine are from SNAP and one is from a food bank,” San Antonio Food Bank Chief Philanthropy Officer Michael Guerra said. “[SNAP benefits expiring] probably means that we’re just going to have to ration. We do ration food right now because there’s more need than there is food, but if we have a need that two, three [or] four times what we normally serve, we won’t be able to scale that fast.”