U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is pushing back hard against the latest round of panic from industry insiders claiming Americans could soon face $10-a-pound beef. She told FOX Business that the Trump administration’s aggressive plan to expand grazing lands and reopen key cattle ports is already shifting the outlook. And she says prices are set to fall far sooner than critics want to admit.
"The Trump administration has released a new plan. We are moving toward opening up five million acres of grazing land," Rollins said on "Mornings with Maria." She added that Trump is "hyper, hyper-focused" on the issue and expects prices to start dropping by spring — and certainly by summer and fall.
Her comments came after Omaha Steaks CEO Nate Rempe sounded alarms about a "$10-per-pound reality," blaming shrinking cattle supply and soaring demand. He warned that by the third quarter of 2026, families could be shelling out $10 for a simple pound of ground beef. "I don't believe we'll see price[s] come down in any meaningful way until sometime in 2027," he said.
The warnings hit as beef prices climb to record highs. A historic drought drove cattle inventory to its lowest point in 70 years, and federal data shows beef and veal prices jumping nearly 15% year over year. The latest readings put the national average at $6.30 per pound.
But Rollins isn’t buying the doomsday timeline. "He was very well-spoken. I do believe, though, that his forecast is not going to be correct," she said. She argued that the idea of waiting until 2027 "is not going to be correct" and pointed to several major factors being overlooked.
"We are suffering from the last administration's literal war on cattle. If you remember, they wanted to reduce the herd sizes because they believe that cattle caused climate change," she said. Rollins noted that drought-driven herd reduction combined with an 8% spike in beef demand has created a "perfect storm."
"And again, you're in this perfect storm that we're in." She said the Trump administration’s new strategy is designed specifically to break that cycle and speed up recovery in a market hungry for protein.
The administration also struck several new trade deals last week that could ease tariffs on goods like Argentine beef. The deal lowers tariffs but keeps U.S. import quotas intact, giving American producers breathing room while expanding supply options.
Rep. Troy Downing, R-Mont., joined the discussion, warning that skyrocketing beef prices could push Americans toward alternative proteins. "One of my concerns, coming from a beef-producing state, is that we get beef prices high enough that folks start looking for alternative proteins," he said. "We need to really be focused on regrowing that American herd."
Downing said the administration’s rapid-response measures are the right move but stressed the long game. "I think these are short-term fixes to try to get to the real goal of – how do we regrow the American herd?" he said. And he cautioned that if prices hit $10 or more, "it's going to be really difficult for the industry to crawl back from that."