Farm Bureau warns Argentina beef imports will hurt U.S. producers

Trump's plan could destabilize markets, undo recent gains and threaten herd rebuilding.

Farm Bureau last week expressed serious concerns about the Trump administration's plans to reduce retail beef prices by importing more beef from Argentina and urged caution to avoid disrupting fragile cattle markets.

"We encourage the administration to resist actions that negatively impact cattle farmers in Iowa and domestic beef production," said Iowa Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson. "Amid widespread depressed ag markets, cattle producers are finally seeing positive returns, one of the few bright spots in Iowa's ag economy, particularly as crop farmers are struggling."

In a social media post, President Donald Trump said he supports cattle ranchers but they "have to get...