A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
We're here because Texas is one of the key states in the midterms. The biggest issue for many voters is the cost of living. So we decided to examine one very Texan slice of that - beef prices.
(SOUNDBITE OF COW MOOING)
MARTÍNEZ: Those prices are way up. For example, ground beef hit a record high of about $7 a pound in August. That's about a buck 50 more than when President Trump returned to office. To find out why, we've come to the source.
(SOUNDBITE OF COW MOOING)
RUSSELL BOENING: I'm Russell.
MARTÍNEZ: A Martínez, just the letter A.
Russell Boening is a fourth-generation farmer and rancher of beef cows near Floresville, Texas. It's about 40 miles southeast of San Antonio. As well as Boening, we're also met by his dog Remy and several cats.
BOENING: We like having cats. I don't know if you guys know this, but cats take care of snakes.
MARTÍNEZ: Oh, do they, really?
BOENING: Big time. Oh, yeah, big time. Big time. We don't even see snakes.
MARTÍNEZ: Thank goodness for that. We pile into Boening's decades-old pickup truck for a tour of the ranch.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAR BEEPING)
MARTÍNEZ: He takes us to a large pasture where cows are nursing calves that are just a few weeks old. Our producer Iman Maani approaches them with her microphones and gets a warning.
BOENING: Don't get too close. They'll be a little protective of those babies sometimes.
IMAN MAANI, BYLINE: OK. Thank you.
BOENING: I mean, I don't have any mean cows, but they'll be protective of those babies.
MARTÍNEZ: Once we're all a safe distance, we stood around a semi-fresh cow pie. Yeah, actually. We ask Boening about the challenges he's facing.
BOENING: It's input prices, you know? It's fuel. 'Cause fuel affects everything. You know, fuel affects the price of your fertilizer. It affects the price of your seed. And, of course, nobody controls the weather.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
BOENING: I mean, drought has been a big issue in Texas. It's been a little bit relief in the last few months, last couple of weeks.
MARTÍNEZ: Boening says these factors explain why the supply of beef is low. However, consumer demand remains high. In an attempt to lower prices, the Trump administration removed tariffs on some foreign imports of ground beef. As well as managing his farm, Boening is also the president of the Texas Farm Bureau, so we ask him what he makes of that policy.
BOENING: If that really works, I'm OK with it. But it does affect my price, at least in the short term. I mean, there were people that were selling cattle a week or two after the announcement. And they went from making a profit on those cattle to losing 4- to $500 per head. Now, that - that's not good. It's especially not good if it doesn't help at the retail level. We don't think it was effective. Hopefully, we learn from it. We move forward. And we let this supply and demand scenario work itself out.
MARTÍNEZ: Is that something that you would be comfortable telling the president, that you're not sure?
BOENING: Yes, I would. I mean, if he would ask the question, I would be honest with him. I mean, I've already seen a little bit preliminary stuff. You know, surveys of different retail outlets since this was happening, and the retail price hasn't gone down. So we need to talk about that and say, OK, we tried it. If it didn't work, let's don't try it again. That would be my message, yes.
MARTÍNEZ: Boening's talking about analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation. It found that ground beef prices only dropped by about 2% in the weeks following Trump's tariff decision. Nonetheless, Boening tells us the Texas Farm Bureau is endorsing the Republican candidates for Senate and governor here. We wanted to hear how other Texans are feeling about those prices. We headed to the town of Seguin and it's branch of the grocery chain H-E-B.
RENE BINDUS: I think it's super crazy. Yeah, it's high. Along with everything else.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Rene Bindus leaving the store.
BINDUS: I probably do my dishes a little differently to make a - the beef stretch further. Maybe, like, casseroles and stuff instead of, like, just the protein.
MARTÍNEZ: We heard that kind of story from several shoppers.
SHERI MOCZYGEMBA: It's definitely high.
MARTÍNEZ: This is Sheri Moczygemba.
MOCZYGEMBA: But I love beef, so I'm going to definitely eat my red meat, but I don't eat as often. Maybe a couple of times a week as opposed to maybe four times a week.
MARTÍNEZ: She tells us that she'd rather pay the price to get what she loves than save money by eating something she doesn't. That probably explains why some people are willing to wait for hours in line to eat barbecued beef brisket.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Can I please get three slices of fatty brisket?
UNIDENTIFIED EMPLOYEE #1: Oh, here you go, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: For here?
MARTÍNEZ: We're at the Burnt Bean Co. in downtown Seguin. It's the No. 1 barbecue joint in the state according to Texas Monthly, the hands-down authority on these matters.
UNIDENTIFIED EMPLOYEE #1: Yeah, do you want that lean or fatty for that pound and a half?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Can I get a little bit of both?
UNIDENTIFIED EMPLOYEE #1: Two-nineteen seventy-four.
MARTÍNEZ: Brisket at Burnt Bean Co. is 38 bucks per pound. Not that co-owner Ernest Servantes turns much of a profit on it lately.
ERNEST SERVANTES: I cringe when I talk about brisket. It's my love, but it's one of those loves that hurts now.
MARTÍNEZ: Servantes and I are sitting down in his restaurant on a busy Saturday. The tables are packed with people from as far away as Kent, England, enjoying his food.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Oh, God.
MARTÍNEZ: Servantes says it's because he doesn't cut corners.
SERVANTES: We use Texas beef, too. You know, we take pride in that. And yes, we're taking a hit for it. But I make it up with other things.
MARTÍNEZ: I mean, are you worried that people, like, give up brisket because they just can't afford it?
SERVANTES: We've got a two-hour wait right now. Do you think they're worried about it? They're not.
MARTÍNEZ: They're not.
SERVANTES: What the consumer is worried about is what's the difference between me paying $38 a pound and going down the street and paying $28 a pound for brisket? That's why we have to be better than them. These consumers understand the value of their dollar, and they want more bang for their buck. And sometimes it's not about the quantity. It's the quality.
MARTÍNEZ: Do you think our leaders kind of understand the pressure that you're under when beef prices go up?
SERVANTES: I don't think anybody does up there.
MARTÍNEZ: He means in Washington, D.C.
SERVANTES: I don't think anybody up - of our leaders are really realizing they're hurting the American people. The ones that get hit first are the middle class. But now we're hurting everybody. The good American small, entrepreneur business guy in a small town, U.S.A.
MARTÍNEZ: So what do you do to, like, try to let them know or to get their attention to...
SERVANTES: Oh, you know...
MARTÍNEZ: ...Your...
SERVANTES: Trust me. We had U.S. senators of both red and blue here the past two weeks. And they got an earful. I - you know, I said, like, what's it going to take for y'all to really stop the animosity towards each other and focus on the American people and that we're hurting?
MARTÍNEZ: Have you thought about where your vote's going to go in November?
SERVANTES: I - yeah, my vote goes for who's going to help the middle class and the small business owners. You know, I don't vote left. I don't vote right. I vote for what's right.
MARTÍNEZ: Servantes hasn't decided yet what's right for him. Another voter still up for grabs in this key midterm state.
UNIDENTIFIED EMPLOYEE #2: Need a [inaudible] and a plate for lamb (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED EMPLOYEE #3: Heard. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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