IA-02 Farmer Speaks Out Against Ashley Hinson’s Tariff Agenda Crushing Ag Economy

Berleen Wobeter, Tama County Cattle Rancher in Hinson’s Congressional District: “For Heaven’s Sake, for Once, a Farmer is Profiting Off of Something, and We Go After Them”

DES MOINES – An Iowa cattle rancher in Ashley Hinson’s congressional district is slamming a new U.S.-Argentina trade deal that will quadruple imports of Argentine beef into our country at the expense of cattle ranchers across Iowa. 

Hinson still hasn’t taken any action to protect Iowa’s cattle ranchers from her terrible tariff and trade agenda that is jacking up input costs and destroying access to profitable markets.

KCAU: Iowa worried about Argentina beef executive order

• A recent executive order from President Trump will see more beef coming into the U.S. with the goal of easing pressure on cattle farmers and keeping prices down. However, for beef farmers in Iowa, they aren’t so sure the President’s order will help.

• The executive order was signed on February 6, and it will quadruple the imports from Argentina.

• “You know the president says, ‘I love my farmers.’ And this does the exact opposite message,” said Berleen Wobeter, a Central Iowa cattle farmer.

• Cattle farmers and the Iowa Farmers Union said this will likely hurt cattlemen.

• “Our Iowa farmers can step up and meet that demand for good American beef. And, you know, right now we’ve started to see some of our cattle farmers actually get into the positive territory after years of laboring,” said Aaron Lehman, the president of the Iowa Farmers Union.

• “For heaven’s sake, for once, a farmer is profiting off of something, and we go after them,” said Wobeter.

• “We need to make sure that we’re addressing the corporate consolidation and the slaughter and processing of our meat. Right now, there are  just a couple of companies that control the marketplace, so eliminating this bottleneck, addressing concentration, addressing monopolies in meatpacking will really make the situation better for farmers and consumers at the same time,” said Lehman.

• Several Cattlemen’s associations on the national level and in the Siouxland states have also voiced their concerns about the executive order.

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