Where’s the beef? Where’s the beef?

Those are words from a very popular 1980s Wendy’s commercial advertising that Wendy’s had more hamburger and less bun than its rivals.

Last month the federal government started to allow up to 300,000 metric tons (over 600 million pounds) of imported ground beef trimmings to enter the United States tariff free over a 90-day period. This is priced 25% below current market rates to reduce the cost of hamburger.

The imported beef will be foreign lean beef shipped in small frozen chunks or trimmings. It will then be processed and blended with our domestic American beef fat and meat.

The largest share goes to commercial kitchens and our fast-food chains. It will be mixed into our standard supermarket ground beef packages. Grocery stores are not required to label blended ground beef with the foreign country of origin. A Product of USA label only applies if the animal was raised, slaughtered and packaged entirely in the United States.

American cattle ranchers supply 80% of our beef here in the U.S. Brazil, Austria, Canada, Mexico and New Zealand make up the other 20%.

Our U.S. cattle inventory has dropped to the lowest level since 1951. Persistent droughts with very dry conditions across the major cattle producing states have scorched pasture grass and reduced hay supplies. Prices for feed, water tankers, fencing, diesel and fertilizer have skyrocketed, eating away at the profit margins of the farmers and ranchers.

Buying more land, equipment and new livestock requires massive upfront capital. Many older ranchers are choosing to retire and sell off their land and herds rather than take on the new debt to rebuild. Rebuilding a herd takes years, as the ranchers will hold back the female calves from slaughter to breed them.

A mama cow has one calf a year. It will cost the rancher at the least $3,500 to bring that animal to butcher. Pasture maintenance, winter hay and grain, vaccinations, dewormers, fly control and salt blocks are just some of what will be needed to raise beef in our country. Farmers will feed and care for that animal for almost two years before it is heavy enough for slaughter.

Flooding the market with foreign beef will drive down the prices cattle producers will receive. Importing meat fails to address the root problem of the massive expenses our United States farmers are dealing with today.

Just a thought: “No farmer no food. No food no people.”

Mary Tobia is an occasional writer for the Times News. Reach her at tneditor@tnonline.com