13-03-2025
Iowa cattle farmer hopes tariffs won't be a negative for local farmers
DES MOINES, Iowa — It might seem unusual to know that a giant beef farm is headquartered in downtown Des Moines in the Financial Center.
The huge beef barns are actually three hours away northwest Iowa in the town of Marcus.
Chad Tentinger has two companies in the beef industry. One is TenCorp, which builds cattle barns for producers. The other is Cattlemen's Heritage, which actually produces the cattle on the Marcus farm. Cattlemen's Heritage is also planning to construct a 2,000 head a day packing plant near Council Bluffs. The plant would employ over 800 people, with a main goal of getting better cattle prices for Iowa farmers.
Tentinger said in his businesses the tariffs have not had an impact.
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'As of right now, it's being talked about we hear a lot about it, but they haven't been implemented in any real way so it hasn't affected the price of anything yet outside of psychologically,' said Tentinger. 'In the beef business we are a net importer beef today in this country, so if the tariffs do go on the countries that are importing beef into this country, it will ultimately make our family farms, the small family farms that are raising beef more profitable and make our product worth more.'
On the barn building side of his business, Tentinger said he talks to his suppliers every day, and no prices for wood or steel have gone up.
He wants tariffs to not be an issue as more beef is raised and consumed in the United States without exporting or importing.
'So that would be a perfect example of more manufacturing in the United States, keeping our product in the United States to the main packers in the country today or foreign owned so I got to believe it'd be a benefit to the family farm to have domestic owned in our packing plants,' said Tentinger. 'Cattlemen's Heritage will be owned by family farmers so I'm a big believer in the idea that we should be manufacturing, making our products in the US.'
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