Although beef prices continue to rise, consumers are still visiting grocery store meat counters to buy beef. The USDA reports that retail beef prices hit record levels in July, with a 27% increase from the month of June. The average price for all cuts of beef was $8.90 per pound, a sharp increase from June’s record prices. Patrick Linnell, director of market research with CattleFax, points out that consumers are continuing to pay these higher prices, while he points out that, “The consumer’s demand for beef is just relentless.” Retail beef prices are up 9.2% from last year, and many beef cuts are setting records, with the retail price of ground beef at $6.25 per lb in July.
Farm equipment giant John Deere has been hit hard by tariffs, and the company recently announced mass layoffs, affecting more than 200 workers at three Midwestern plants. Josh Beal, John Deere director of investor relations, estimates that tariffs have have already cost the company $300 million this year, and he expects that a full-year of tariffs will amount to nearly $600 million, because of increased costs for steel, aluminum and other materials from Europe and India that are used in Deere’s U.S. factories. The company recently stated that the struggling agricultural economy continues to impact orders for John Deere equipment,” and that “This is a challenging time for many farmers, growers and producers that will directly impact John Deere’s business in the near term.
Soybeans are an important crop in the Midwest and eastern Colorado. China has been a consistent purchaser of U.S. soybeans for several years, but not in 2025. Even though the tariff war between the U.S. and China has been extended to Nov. 10th, China hasn’t purchased any new-crop U.S. soybeans. The American Soybean Association contends that usually, China would have already ordered at least 14% of the beans they needed, but now grain elevators across the country are not even bidding on soybeans that will be harvested this fall, while farmers are hoping that the dispute can be settled soon.
Lately, daily TV news reports have been full of video clips showing ICE agents tackling alleged illegal workers in cities and in agricultural settings. Farms and ranches depend on immigrant farmworkers, and the USDA Economic Research Service, states that about 42% of these workers lack legal status. The National Milk Producers Federation estimates that more than half of all U.S. dairy workers are immigrants, and dairies that employ immigrant labor produce about 79% of the nation’s milk supply, so if those dairies would lose their foreign-born workforce, retail milk prices would double, costing the U.S. economy more than $32 billion annually.
Who says that farmers and ranchers don’t have their own mega stars. Temple Grandin, distinguished professor of animal science at Colorado State University and a tireless speaker, prolific author, and distinguished professor of animal science at CSU, is often circled by students on the Fort Collins campus, flagged down by people at airports, and surrounded by admirers at agriculture conferences and gatherings for families of children with autism. Grandin, who autistic, has pioneered practices for animal welfare based on her own autism. Having met and visited with Grandin, she is a humble person who helps us understand what animals see and feel.
The documentary film “An Open Door.” is available on the streaming platforms Amazon Prime, Apple TV+ and Kanopy beginning Aug. 12. The film is presented by CSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences, was written and directed by award-winning filmmaker John Barnhardt and is distributed by Good Deed Entertainment. It has been accepted into 72 festivals, has earned 27 individual awards, and has been featured in 26 states and nine countries.
