The first casualties of Trump's trade wars are Texas cattle ranchers

[geronl]

KYLE, Texas - If the first casualty of war is truth, then the first casualties of trade war are the working man and woman. And first among them is about to be the iconic Texas rancher.

Here in the rolling pastures of bright, green spring grass at the edge of the Texas Hill Country, the handful of large spreads prosper from a wet winter. The short-horned Charolais breed, imported from France via Mexico, grow thick and wide, their white coats bright in the sunshine of impending spring. The Charolais makes for some of the finest grass-fed beef in the world. Now that a years-long drought has broken, ranchers can count on trucking in less of that expensive coastal grass they require in the dry months.

But the Texas cattle rancher now faces a new threat: the Trump administration's blundering, blustering trade policy. By threatening a trade war with Mexico within days of inauguration, the president helped trigger a slide in cattle futures. Mexico is a major export market. By sinking the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the new administration cut off long-sought access to the Japanese market. Now banks have raised the conditions for collateral for loans for ranchers.

excerpted

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2017/02/16/first-casualties-trumps-trade-wars-texas-cattle-ranchers

[geronl]

@AbaraXas

[GtHawk]

Hate to see ranchers in Texas suffer, but if this means that beef prices drop and I can afford more than an occasional serving of beef in a menu full of chicken...............well............sorry, I guess Mexico will just have to back to eating chihuahua tacos.

[geronl]

Hate to see ranchers in Texas suffer, but if this means that beef prices drop and I can afford more than an occasional serving of beef in a menu full of chicken...............well............sorry, I guess Mexico will just have to back to eating chihuahua tacos.

protectionism will raise prices, any lowering of the price is temporary because of a glut.

[corbe]

   maybe obummer will move there.



@geronl your new avatar is bad azz, you love to get these trumpsters panties all in a wad, don't you?

[truth_seeker]

Texas has 13% of the total US cattle population..

Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, California, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin & Colorado.   All states in the top 10 have more than 2.5 million head of cattle.  Fifty-seven percent (57%) of the cattle in the United States are in the top 10 states.

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/advice-and-tips/cowcalf-producer/cattle-inventory-ranking-all-50-states