REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Livestock organizations are looking forward to the new Trump administration taking over with cautious optimism.

"We have to look at how President-elect Donald Trump did the last time he was in office," said National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane. "We saw when he was last in office how he kept farmers in mind when making trade deals with Japan and China, and when setting up the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement). We expect this to continue and are moving forward with cautious optimism when it comes to the incoming administration."

Lori Stevermer, president of the National Pork Producers Council, said it is important for those in animal agriculture to establish relationships with all who are in office, especially those newly elected. These relationships help explain to elected officials the importance of livestock production at all levels, including internationally.

TALK OF TARIFFS

Trump has repeatedly said he will place tariffs on countries like Canada and Mexico, which could threaten the USMCA. Live cattle imports from Mexico are still on hold due to New World screwworm (NWS). But when that trade resumes, it could be threatened by the tariff talk. Lane said the Mexican feeder cattle have helped fill the low cattle supply in the U.S. He stresses what may be more important overall is export beef sales, as nearly $400 of value of every carcass comes in exporting the cuts not normally eaten in the U.S.

John Hinners, vice president of industry relations for the U.S. Meat Export Federation, said they will just have to shift the marketing if tariffs come into play. Meat cuts that would normally go to one country may be marketed to another as to not slow down the export flow, he said.

Bill Bullard, R-Calf CEO, said the U.S has been steadily increasing its reliance on cheaper imports for cattle.

"This has resulted in an alarming reduction of the U.S. cattle producers," Bullard said. "The latest census shows we've lost over 100,000 beef cattle operations during the five-year period from 2017 to 2022."

He continued about the importance of maintaining near self-sufficiency in food production, which he said is a national security issue.

"The U.S. must begin rebuilding its domestic supply chain for beef," Bullard told DTN. "The establishment of tariffs and tariff rate quotas that ensure U.S. producers are not undercut by cheaper imports is the solution. In our trade with Canada and Mexico, we import approximately three times the volume of beef than we export to those two countries, leaving us with an annual trade deficit of about 2 billion pounds of beef (based on converting live cattle to a beef equivalent). This ongoing trade deficit has the effect of eliminating opportunities for rebuilding our shrinking domestic production capacity."

Bullard said he also wants to see animals that are imported be required to meet the same health standards as U.S. livestock to ensure the safety of the food supply.

On the pork side, Stevermer said it's important to have conversations with Canadian trading partners to avoid lulls in importing feeder pigs to the U.S. for feeding out.

"These feeder pig imports are an important part of our production cycle," Stevermer said. "We need to have the discussions to know what to expect on both sides of the border."

Stevermer said this also goes for the relationship with Mexico on pork exports, as they are the No. 1 market for U.S. pork.

"We know there will likely be retaliatory tariffs from these countries but hope the elected officials can see the importance of these trade relationships to avoid a slowdown in our production," she said.

LABOR IS ONGOING CONCERN

Stevermer said labor issues are an ongoing concern.

"Migrant workers may face deportation even if they are in the U.S. on a proper visa," she said. "Most are skilled individuals working on farms and in areas where the general U.S. population doesn't want to work."

Lane agreed. "Labor shortages continue to be a challenge, and most of these are not jobs the average American wants to take," he said. "The debate is how will we meet the labor needs if migrant labor is affected."

Lane said he thinks markets could see pressure as far down as the grocery store if food production is challenged by these labor concerns.

FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE CONCERN

The recent passage of the Beagle Brigade Act will help keep foreign animal diseases (FAD) out of the U.S., but livestock organizations say that's just part of it and is a good reminder to know what is crossing the border through travel.

"We need to continue to watch the entry points into the U.S. to ensure there are no gaps," said Lane. "NWS and HPAI have certainly helped us find some of those gaps and keep threats out, but this is also part of having good relationships with our trade partners."

Stevermer said the FAD concern is prevalent. Continuing to have a spot with the national animal health vaccine bank in the case of a disease outbreak is important. While she said she realizes this may not be addressed in the first 100 days of the new administration, it is certainly something to keep top of mind.

Bullard said he wants to prohibit the importation of livestock and meat from any country not free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination, NWS, or any other pernicious disease or pest not indigenous to the United States.

Bullard said the current electronic identification (EID) mandate should be reversed and permanently prohibit the USDA from imposing a mandatory EID system on the U.S. cattle industry.

However, Lane said the EID system can help keep the cattle herd safe by being able to trace a disease outbreak more quickly if one should happen.

"I understand the concerns producers have, but it is not a change from the previous rules, but rather an upgrade of software," Lane said.

OTHER CONCERNS FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS

Bullard said those at R-Calf would also like to see the enactment of mandatory country-of-origin labeling for all beef sold in America to empower domestic cattle producers to compete against imported cattle and beef.

"We would also like to prohibit unpriced cattle procurement contracts and require dominant packers to purchase at least half their cattle in the competitive cash market to restore competitive market forces in the domestic fed cattle market," he said. "We would also like to see the new administration support and finalize the Packers and Stockyards Act rulemakings undertaken during the Biden administration that will rebalance the disparate market power between dominant packers and independent livestock producers."

Other discussion points made by Bullard include enforcing antitrust laws to prevent further concentration, consolidation, and vertical integration of cattle markets; loosen current guidelines under the Mandatory Price Reporting Act; and repeal the current beef checkoff program and redesign a voluntary program.

Economics continues to be top of mind for NPPC and NCBA. While cattle producers are seeing good markets currently, pork producers have struggled with low profits over the past couple years, and margins in both industries have been a problem. Both said regulations can lead to concerns, and building better equity back into the livestock industry would help all producers.

"We have to realize the coalition that elected Trump doesn't all have the same ideas of food production as we do in the agricultural industry," Lane said. "We need to continue to aggressively advocate and stand up for our way of sustainably producing food."

"We have to continue to educate officials about agriculture and let consumers know how our producers are sustainably producing affordable food for them to purchase," Stevermer said.

For more, see "Live Cattle Imports From Mexico Still on Hold Due to New World Screwworm Case" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Also see "North American Trade on Edge as Trump Tariff Plans Risk USMCA Trade Gains" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @JennCattleGal

(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.