*This is a combined version of Commissioner Beverage’s series on Data Centers from October 2025
Part 1. All Hat, No Cattle
On October 20, President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the United States “could buy some beef from Argentina” as a way to lower high U.S. retail beef prices for consumers and support Argentina’s struggling economy. Since it was announced, he has doubled down and said that ranchers and farmers “don’t understand” that “the only reason they are doing so well” are his “policies”. It just so happens that I started looking into this topic a couple years back, and I thank the President for the opportunity to speak on this topic. Not only as a politician, but as a huge fan of Agriculture in Lake County.
Because when politicians talk about the “agriculture industry,” they make it sound like it all fits on a spreadsheet. Exports, imports, subsidies, and trade balances are terms thrown around like they define the work. But when you strip away the talking points, what they’re really talking about, whether they know it or not, are the families who wake up before dawn, feed animals, tend to crops, and spend their summers sweating under the sun so there’s food on our tables.
These aren’t statistics on a spreadsheet. They’re people. They’re families. They’re the backbone of what’s left of American self-reliance. They’re people that I have the utmost respect for, and as it seems their livelihoods are being misjudged and attacked, I feel it is my responsibility to say something.
Here in Lake County, we’re a beautiful mix of communities. A great part of who we are is our agriculture. We may not have endless farmlands or sprawling ranches. But if you know where to look, agriculture is everywhere. It’s in the greenhouses and community gardens, the chicken coops tucked behind family homes, the nurseries that have stood longer than the roads that now lead to them and built this county, and the people who tend to it all. It’s in the families who have given generations to this work, and those deciding to take on the challenges for the first time. It’s in the 4-H kids who are already learning the value of hard work, commitment, and pride in what they do.
The 4-H program has always been a bridge between generations. It’s where the next wave learns not just how to raise something, but how to care about it. These kids aren’t taught shortcuts. They’re taught follow-through. The kind of follow-through that shows up for chores before school or checks on a sick animal after dinner. Those lessons don’t fade. They build character, and they last a lifetime.
But while our communities keep doing things the right way, the rules that define the agriculture industry keep changing, and not always for the better.
The 2015 repeal of mandatory Country of Origin Labeling for beef and pork left American ranchers and small processors behind. So, when someone picks up a pack of ground beef at the store, they might believe they’re buying local, when in reality that meat could have come from halfway around the world.
Right now, lamb, goat, chicken, fish, and shellfish, or as you may know them, all the other meats you buy, are required to show where they come from. Beef and pork aren’t. That carve-out came after years of corporate lobbying and trade disputes that pushed small farmers out of the conversation. The USDA’s newer “Product of USA” label is voluntary, not mandatory, and while it helps when used honestly, it doesn’t solve the larger problem of transparency for the consumer or fairness for the producer.
There’s a bill from Democrats in Congress right now called the Truth in Labeling Act. It’s meant to make the front of food packaging clearer about what’s inside the food we buy. So, instead of having to closely examine packaging, information would be more clear and present. On paper, that sounds like a fair idea, maybe even a great one. Consumers deserve to know what they’re eating, where it came from, and how it was processed or prepared. That’s only right. But when democrats try to do something to help Americans, they make sure to have carveouts and protections that minimize the potential benefit for sake of corporate profits.
When you dig into the details, what’s missing is just as important as what’s written. The act doesn’t touch on where food comes from, and that matters. For all the talk about transparency, the same loopholes that let foreign beef or pork be labeled as “Product of the USA” if it was merely packaged here still exist. That’s right. Today, when you go to Giant Eagle, Aldi, or your local grocer, the beef or pork products you buy are not required to state where the animal is from.
Because today beef from cattle that is bred, raised, processed, and sold in America from beginning to end has the same “Product of USA” label as beef from a Japanese cow, raised in Argentina, slaughtered in Mexico, and processed in America. Because as the law currently states, the product was processed here, making it a U.S. product. The same applies to pork. For the last ten years, you have been buying beef and pork products that have likely misled you to believe you were supporting American farmers when you were actually buying from a multinational corporation that is in direct competition with American farmers. Truth in labeling should mean truth without an asterisk.
That’s the kind of quiet change that hurts real families, the ones who raise cattle, process meat locally, and try to compete with industrial imports and massive corporations. The same families who don’t have marketing teams or armies of lawyers in Washington. While Multinational Corporations that do factory farming are paying off congressmen and lobbying to get their “Product of USA” label to confuse us. In Ohio, beef and dairy together contribute more than $900 million to our state economy, but when federal labeling laws let imported meat disguise itself as American products everyone will feel the negative impact.
In a time when some leaders are fixated on sending tax dollars overseas to supposedly make things cheaper here, it’s these families right here in our communities who are keeping America running and need the support. They’re the ones putting in the work while the policy conversations move further away from reality. The values that built this country haven’t disappeared, they’ve just been pushed aside. And it doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one policy at a time, one trade deal at a time, one labeling rule at a time. The result is a system that no longer protects people; it protects corporate profits. So the families get squeezed out, and corporations move in to buy up the land, the water, and the control.
Part 2.
As President Trump has made clear over the last week, he wants to fulfill his promise to lower costs for American consumers by reducing beef prices. However, his solution has been for the U.S. to buy more Argentine beef, together with the $40 billion loan package sent to Argentina, in an attempt to flood the market with cheaper products and lower prices while helping out his friend, President Milei of Argentina. On October 23, the administration announced a four-fold increase in the tariff-rate quota for Argentine beef (to 80,000 metric tons). America’s ranchers and farmers pushed back, speaking out on his inaction on providing help domestically.
This foreign investment comes at a time when America’s national cattle herd is shrinking, drought continues to plague key grazing regions, and farmers are facing higher costs due to tariffs and foreign retaliation. Meanwhile, the middle class continues to shrink and buying power stretches thinner by the day, while multinational corporations reap the benefits of their influence over D.C. lawmakers.
USDA’s plan, announced Oct 22, includes opening millions of acres of federal grazing land, accelerating permit approvals, and funding small ranchers. The Emergency Livestock Relief Program was expanded to provide roughly $2 billion in payments to producers who suffered drought or disaster losses over the past two years. The Farm Service Agency has begun reopening local offices to help farmers access loans, insurance, and emergency assistance more easily, and the Department of the Interior will open more federal land for grazing. These are steps in the right direction, but they remain stopgaps. Many producers in Ohio and across the Midwest are still dealing with lasting challenges such as increasing feed costs, tight margins, and the lingering effects of export barriers. Ohio alone is home to more than 17,000 cattle operations, most family-run, and their survival depends on fair market access rather than short-term relief.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has finalized rules, effective January 1, 2026, clarifying when meat can be labeled “Product of USA” or “Made in the USA.” The label can only be used if the animal was born, raised, slaughtered, and processed entirely within the United States. This is a step toward transparency, since many consumers never realized imported cattle could legally carry a “Product of USA” label if packaged domestically. However, the new rule was created via executive action and is not guaranteed to be upheld by future administrations. It does not fix the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) carve-outs that make it so lamb, goat, chicken, fish, and shellfish packaging still display origin at all times, while beef and pork do not.
One legislative step, the American Beef Labeling Act of 2025, was introduced to close the loophole, but only solve half the problem. If enacted, it would force mandatory origin labeling for beef. But it isn’t the full solution, as it does not solve for pork products having the same loophole from an industry carve-out. While this improves labeling in name, it is again a half measure to make it appear that work is being done. Except, it isn’t accomplishing that either as the bill has not received a vote, even though Republicans control both chambers of congress and the White House.
Meanwhile, President Trump has proposed increasing imports of Argentine beef alongside the $40 billion loan. Ranchers and farmers nationwide understand what Washington apparently does not: even if the U.S. became the largest buyer of Argentine beef, it wouldn’t meaningfully reduce grocery bills. In 2024, the U.S. imported roughly 4.6 billion pounds of beef while exporting 3 billion pounds, leaving a 1.6 billion pound trade deficit. Even quadrupling Argentine imports, which currently account for about 2% of total U.S. beef imports, would barely shift market prices.
For decades, federal “free trade” policies have opened and expanded markets abroad while leaving small towns and families here to shoulder the cost. American producers of beef, pork, soybeans, corn, and dairy are losing markets under retaliatory tariffs, while domestic prices rise. Instead of providing practical support, the government is prioritizing foreign deals that do little to help working families.
According to the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, the average American can purchase a pound of ground beef with roughly 12 minutes of work. But that statistic does not account for the vast disparity in wealth and the rapidly shrinking middle class, which is under pressure from growing costs, inflation, soaring housing prices, and sustained inaction from Washington.
Certain products, food and otherwise, that Americans rely on simply cannot be produced domestically. Coffee, cocoa, and many fruits and vegetables are examples, as the climates required to grow them at scale do not exist in the U.S.
Yet, while these realities are well known, American beef, pork, soybean, corn, and dairy producers are losing overseas markets with no help from Washington. Our agricultural exports suffer under retaliatory tariffs imposed by other nations in response to U.S. trade policies. These tariffs don’t just hurt exporters; they raise domestic prices. Costs at the grocery store are going up because some leaders refuse to listen to reason.
If the goal is truly to reduce costs for American families, it would make more sense not to impose tariffs on goods that must be imported. Taxing Brazilian coffee beans and bananas, staples that cannot be grown domestically, does not protect jobs or industries—it only makes breakfast more expensive for working families.
Instead of providing direct aid to struggling farmers and ranchers, the government is choosing to bail out Argentina to the tune of roughly $40 billion because its leaders say nice things about the U.S. That bailout now appears to extend to the Argentine cattle industry, all under the guise of lowering prices for American consumers. It won’t make a significant impact on family budgets. The issue is that American tax dollars prop up another nation’s economy while our own farmers and ranchers fend for themselves.
Let’s be honest, this is not about helping consumers. It’s about politics, optics, and short-term headlines. You can’t fix beef prices by importing more when policy failures at home are hurting Americans directly. These decisions and lack of lasting action sends a message to every farmer, rancher, and small-town producer that their government would rather buy from someone else than invest in them. I remain firmly in the belief that our agriculture industry deserves investment. Americans have earned it. In the long run, this approach weakens America’s foundation. Losing the ability to feed ourselves diminishes a piece of who we are and what made this country.
Part 3. Lake County Farmers Forever
Here in Lake County, we know the importance and impact that farmers have and make in our communities. Local farms and nurseries have played a huge role in this county for over 185 years, and as of 2022 Lake County has 243 farms, with a total of 13,886 acres of land in farms according to the US Department of Agriculture. But the impact that our local Ag community has simply does not get enough credit and attention.
Having lived in Perry for over a decade now, I see firsthand the respect and appreciation our communities have for our farm families and what they contribute every day. Whether it’s a farmer up before the rest of us tending their fields and livestock, or battling through unpredictable weather to protect their crops, these men and women prove their resilience and work ethic. They feed our families, support our schools and local businesses, and prove that hard work still matters.
Nothing could have made this point more clear to me than when I attended an event for the Eastern Lake County Chamber of Commerce a couple years back and saw Todd and Ame West of West Orchards receive the award for business of the year. Hearing them speak about their family farm and what it means to them made an emotional impact on me. Agriculture life is passed from parent to child, and has built up our county for many generations. If we all take the time to think about and appreciate what goes into the work, we gain an understanding of what it means to all of us who benefit from these families’ hard work.
Agriculture in Lake County is representative of our entire community. There is a real measurable impact in all of our lives when our agriculture industry succeeds, and great harm when they struggle or are attacked. According to the 2022 U.S. Census of Agriculture, Lake County farms produced nearly $97.7 million in market value from agricultural products, with operating expenses totaling about $77.9 million. Every dollar generated by a Lake County farm ripples nearly twice through the local economy. Agriculture here is not a siloed industry but a living network that touches every part of community life. The Ohio Department of Agriculture has echoed that reality by expanding “Taste of Ohio” sourcing programs and creating revitalization grants for small farms.
That’s why the decisions made in Washington or Columbus aren’t just political distractions; they shape what happens right here at home. When federal trade policy favors imports of cheaper beef or removes mandatory labeling for pork, it puts local producers at a disadvantage. When large corporations buy up the little guy to reduce their competition, we suffer in more ways than one. When you support local farmers you send a message that you care about your community, your neighbors, and the quality of work.
Here’s what that looks like in real terms: while the federal government debates the American Beef Labeling Act, Lake County’s small beef and livestock producers are operating on razor-thin margins. Feed, fertilizer, and fuel costs have surged nearly 30% over the last three years, according to USDA reports, while that has not made it back to farmers. The cattle herd nationwide has shrunk to its smallest size in decades, but imported beef keeps flowing in under flexible labeling laws, meaning consumers can’t tell whether they’re buying local or foreign meat. That’s not just an economic issue; it’s a fairness issue that hits close to home.
Beyond livestock and feed, Lake County’s agriculture is distinctive. Our farms aren’t defined by sprawling cornfields or massive cattle operations. They’re rooted in nurseries, vineyards, and greenhouse production. Lake County consistently ranks among Ohio’s top producers of ornamental plants and small fruit crops, leveraging the Lake Erie microclimate to grow everything from grapes to specialty vegetables. It’s agriculture that’s about stewardship and skill.
There are options to support our local agriculture industry and family farms in eastern communities like Perry, Madison, Leroy, and Painesville Township that offer meat year round and fresh produce when in season. Additionally, you can support local farmers of the next generation at our annual Lake County 4-H Livestock Auction at the Lake County Fair. In 2025, the Lake County 4-H livestock auction raised $424,870 from 271 lots, setting a new record for Lake County 4-H. That kind of support shows how deeply this community values hard work and commitment. Every dollar invested in those young 4-H’ers is an investment in the skills, discipline, and pride that keep our agricultural traditions being passed from generation to generation.
The health of agriculture in Northeast Ohio depends as much on cooperation as cultivation. Programs through the OSU Extension, Farm Bureau, and Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District have helped farmers modernize, conserve, and educate on their needs and challenges. Together, they form a local safety net for an industry that’s both economically vital and environmentally fragile. With these partnerships in place, the story of farming in Lake County remains one of resilience and renewal.
If we want to preserve what makes Lake County special, we must keep investing in and supporting our local producers. Because when they succeed, so do we. Agriculture is part of our identity, our story, and our shared future. Fruit stands, local markets, co-ops, and the many small family businesses attached to farms across the county are core pieces of our community. They support our neighbors, local businesses, and restaurants that choose to prioritize local producers over corporate competition.
There are so many stories, so many families that deserve attention and thanks. To those of you out there wondering why your story wasn’t told in this piece, I see you, and I appreciate you. My advocacy for you doesn’t end with this article. I’m just getting started.
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Part 4H
You didn’t really believe that was all I had to say about American agriculture, did you? Please tell me you knew in your heart that I wasn’t just going to have a slight reference to the 4H kids.
The first three parts of this story were to inform folks about the current state of this topic and how it’s viewed. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m frustrated by it. The reason I care is 100% because of the 4H program here in Lake County. I can honestly say our Lake County 4H program is one of my favorite things about this county.
I first attended a 4H livestock auction at the 2021 Lake County Fair. I was clueless about the process, the pricing, the amount of freezer space needed, and more. My first bids were on the Grand Champion steer that year, because if I’m going to do something, I’m going big. I wound up losing that bidding war, but the next animal up for auction was the Reserve Champion steer, which I won. The next thing I knew I was shaking the hand of a young future leader who was thanking me for bidding on their project. In that moment, I realized two things. First, I was hooked on these auctions! Second, the youth of these 4H programs are different all in the right ways.
This is their Super Bowl, and you feel it in how the families and community support them.
I learned after that first auction that my father-in-law, Ken Keener, had actually raised the Grand Champion steer in 1968. I had no idea that the program I was supporting had such a connection to my own family. There are plenty of us here in Lake County who know someone who was a 4H kid, that put in the work and contributed in their way to the program to make it what it is today. Even if you don’t think you know someone who was in 4H, you will be surprised. Speaking of the 1968 Grand Champion, if anyone ever brings a pure-bred Shorthorn to auction, it’s a safe bet it’s going home with me.
In the following years, I started attending more and more of the shows for each of the individual animals. I’ve learned that there is an art to showing these animals that each of these kids spends a ton of time mastering. The Grand and Reserve Champion placements, as determined by the market judging, matter for getting higher bids per pound. And while yes, the money does matter, I have seen the pride and competition amongst these kids, and it is impressive.
And don’t think I don’t see you guys over at the horse barns as well! I talk a lot about the livestock program, but there is no shortage of hard work going on in the equestrian side of 4H either. The livestock show arena is right next door to one of the horse arenas, and I see the skill and talent being shown over there that only come from years of dedication. As commissioner, I have learned more about the archery and shooting clubs in our 4H program that have sent Lake County youth to the national stage to compete—and so much more.
The most inspiring part of the showmanship competition is the universal support among the entire group of children and adults. Yes, they want banners and want to be the best at their craft, but these competitors are their friends and community. They know how much work each person has put in, and they want everyone to be successful. Watching the second-place showman be as happy for the first-place showman as they themselves are is a beautiful thing to see. Doing the right thing is the norm and part of the culture I see in the 4H community. I cannot do it justice with words, even though I am an obnoxious supporter of all things 4H. Some things you need to see or be a part of to understand.
Which is, I guess, why the current political issues regarding American beef frustrated me so much. I wish we lived in a society where hard work always paid off. I wish we could insulate our children from the realities of politics until they were 18 and took up their part of being good citizens. I’ve said my piece about these national policies, and now I’m done with that part. My hope is that folks continue to pay attention to these decisions and understand how they impact our local community. But here is where I would love to see us go moving forward.
When we celebrate children, our whole community gets better. Come to the Lake County Fair the last week of July next year. Walk through the Youth and Community Building and see the exhibits. Make your way over to the horse barns and witness children’s love for an animal that teaches them so much about life. Watch a horse show. Have a seat at the livestock show arena and witness one of their shows. I promise you will see a story for yourself that will bring a tear to your eye.
Walk through the livestock barn and ask these young folks about their animals, learn about what you’re eating, and then show up and take part in the auction on Saturday. You don’t have to start with a steer. Start with chickens. You can fit two in your freezer, and I’m told by most of the livestock folks that chickens are where you’ll notice the biggest difference between 4H meat and store-bought, factory-farmed meat. If we do what we can to support these children, we will see and enjoy the benefits.