GUNTOWN, Miss. (WTVA) – With beef at an all-time high, what does that mean for Mississippi farmers?

The price of beef has never been higher in the United States, with the average price for a pound of beef costing $6.85, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On Friday, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on beef tariffs to address the cost.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said beef prices rose under the Biden administration as American beef herds fell to their smallest count in history.

Under the pause, up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef will be imported into the country and sold at 25% below current market prices.

Many Republicans disagreed with the president, saying Americans want to eat U.S. beef, not foreign beef. They also said the move is a short-term solution that will not last.

Earlier this month, nearly 30,000 pounds of imported ground beef from Argentina were recalled in Florida and Texas after the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service failed to perform a reinspection on the beef.

Experts say the cattle industry has faced setbacks over the last year. Historic drought across the country and decreasing prices for cattle have led to a cattle and calf shortage.

Combined with record-high operating costs for farmers, the industry is facing its biggest cattle shortage in more than 75 years.

Agriculture is one of the biggest industries in Mississippi, with cattle ranking as the fifth-biggest agricultural commodity in the state.

There are more than 13,000 cattle farms across Mississippi and 800,000 head of cattle.

The new tariffs have raised concern among some in the industry. Two farm-to-table cattle farmers said the tariff pause will benefit them, but they will not see much of a profit because of high operating costs.

“In reference to the all-time high prices, our inputs are at an all-time high price,” said Olivia Anne Frazier with Shurden Farm. “We’ve got over five dollars a gallon diesel; we’ve got tractors multiple times higher than they used to be. So while the beef prices are increased, our inputs are so much more expensive. It’s not a huge return like some may think it is.”

There are still questions to be answered about the lift on beef tariffs.

Fall is also an important time for calves to be sold across the country. Cattle farmers across the U.S. are looking to rebuild the industry to a stable level and lower beef prices.

It is unclear how much relief the imported beef will bring to consumers.

Cattle farmers say the move will further increase the price of U.S. beef in the future.