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>> Commissioner Sid Miller. Commissioner,

it's great to see you, sir. Welcome to

Bloomberg TV and radio. We've got a lot

of questions for you, and I just want to

start with the basic premise here. Will

this move the president is making

depress

pockets of Texas cattle ranchers?

Well, it it's it's it's a bad move for a

couple of re reasons, Joe. Number one,

it doesn't do anything to build the

cattle herd. It absolutely does not.

>> Yeah.

>> And second, even more important, it adds

to our agriculture trade deficit. Uh we

were left, the previous administration

left us a $50 billion a trade deficit.

First time in my lifetime that's that's

ever happened. Normally we we sell ex

you know export a lot of agriculture

products but we're buying more food from

foreign nations uh than we're selling.

So that's a dangerous position to be in

when you're have foreign countries

depending on uh you know them to feed

you. So

>> we we've got to do something to build

the herd. So I I suggest two things. One

is a retention tax credit. You know,

when you your child, if you have one 17

or younger, you get $1,000 off your

income taxes. Well, let's do something

like that for the cattle. Let's give

them $500 to keep a heer and turn it

into a mom cow. The other thing that it

actually compounded the problem when we

close the border to Mexican cattle. It's

much better if we walk cattle across on

the hoof than buying it beef in the box.

Because when you walk cattle in, uh,

they they graze our winter pasture, our

our ranches, our eat our grain, our

corn, right in our trucks, and go

through our processing plants. There's 2

million head in Mexico waiting to come

in. That would rebuild the herd by 2

million. Hey, Tyson last week closed

three packing plants. 2 million head

would have kept them open.

>> That's right. Yeah. So, based off of

what you're outlining, are you saying

that this is more a federal issue, a way

that the federal government could put

forward solutions, or are there other

things that the state should be taking

into consideration when it comes to

supporting America's cattle ranchers?

>> Well, the beef industry is scattered

over the the whole nation. So, we need

we need a nation solution. So, that's

why I suggested the heer retention tax

credits, opening the border to Mexico.

Now, they've opened it, but we've only

got in 750 head. Uh, at this rate, we

might get a 100,000 head by the end of

the year. That That's not going to do

it. And really, I I don't think beef is

all that high compared to everything

else. I just went went to the grocery

store. I don't know if you can see this

or not, but there's ground beef 8020,

$4.99 a pound. Chuck roast $7.99 a

pound. That that seems fairly

reasonable, especially when I am paying

as a cattleman the highest prices for my

three top inputs. high feed because of

the drought, high diesel prices because

of straight of hormouth and the highest

fertilizer prices I've ever paid. Also

be because of the straight of hormouth.

So, uh, we're not on easy times and and

bringing in foreign beef is complicating

the problem.

>> Well, we know that they're really tough

times and and and that we know that

farmers want to work. They want to

produce and they want to feed Americans.

Commissioner Miller, there's also

reality. Is there going to have to be

another farmer bailout next year?

>> Well, possibly. Uh but you know, this is

this is not helping because it's taking

profits right out of the the ranchers

pocket. And you know, the

>> the the Trump uh administration has

advisers. That's why he has a cabinet.

Uh a lot of ranchers are really

disappointed in Secretary Rollins for

not weighing in on this. She fully

supports this.

>> She won't say where the beef is coming

from. Should we know what country the

beef is coming from? Well, let me tell

you. I'm glad you brought that up. It's

coming from any one of 20 countries.

They won't tell us tell us which one.

But here's the here's the problem, Joe.

>> When it gets here, if you want to go to

the grocery store and make sure you're

buying US beef and not beef from Brazil,

uh you can't tell because once it gets

here, it can all be labeled product of

USA. You can't tell the Australian beef

from the Brazilian beef from the

Argentine beef.

>> It's all packaged. Now, USDA has a

voluntary program, but we need a

mandatory country origent label. That's

lying to the American consumer. That's

deceptive advertising. That just really,

you know, chaps me off that that we

would do that to the American consumer,

just flat out lie to them.

>> Have you spoken to Secretary Rollins

directly? Have you asked for uh any

answers on these questions that you

have?

>> I have as as recently as yesterday.

We we're and we we had a pretty we had a

rather heated discussion as as a matter

of fact and uh uh she's she's going to

stand behind the president's decision,

but we we would really like for her to

stand up for the for the ranchers and

farmers and uh you know at least you

know push our side of it so the

president knows you know where we stand

because

>> you know I'm the strongest reporter uh

supporter in Texas. Trump Trump has he

calls me Trump's man in Texas. I very

rarely disagree with him. Matter of

fact, only two times have I disagreed

with him and it was over Argentine beef

and all these 300,000 metric tons of

beef coming in from 20 different

countries.

>> Only two times. I'm glad that you

mentioned that, Commissioner, because we

should tell our viewers and listeners

that that you're a MAGA supporter.

You're a Trump guy and and you've tried

to work with the administration all the

way. Is the president risking losing the

American farmer?

Well, I think he's, you know, you know,

I'm I'm real close to him. I'm I'm right

in the heartbeat of of ranching country.

You know, Texas, we have more cattle

than any other state and and they're

really upset about this. Uh we we may

lose some midterm elections over this.

Uh you can throw in data centers and

solar farms and and school choice and

high property taxes and and we outlawed

THC in Texas. There's a number of

issues. We're we're we're having

supporters drop off

>> uh from this administration,

unfortunately.

>> Are you worried that farmers are going

to start selling their land for data

centers to move in?

>> Well, they're already doing that. We

we've got 500 data. We have more data

centers in Texas than uh China does.

China stopped at 453. They said it was

too big a strain on their

infrastructure. We've got over 500 in

just Texas. So, the AI race is over. We

we've won it. We're going to have 5,000

in the United States. No one else even

comes close. Uh so the AI race is over.

Uh we we need to get some parameters

around this industry and try to get it,

you know, some guard rails around it

because it's it's just wild west,

especially in Texas.

>> Are those conversations about potential

guard rails happening? Are you talking

to the governor or other officials at

the state level about what that would

actually look like and what's feasible

to get through?

Well, you know, I've been talking about

this for a year, but I'm the only

statewide Republican that's doing so.

Uh, Democrats are right on the issue.

They're hammering it. Uh, the governor's

starting to come around. He was the, you

know, he's the one that recruited them

here and bragged on we're going to have

the more AI data centers than any state.

Well, he he accomplished that. Uh, but

we we don't have any regulation in Texas

and our counties can't regulate them.

They don't have any authority to do so.

So, they just come in here, use our

water, our electricity, take up our most

valuable farmland. They like it better

than anything else. It's it's flat. Uh

it's it's ready to go. It's it's got

water and electricity on it. Uh they can

just start building and they don't need

any building codes or anything.

>> Mhm. I just want our listeners on the

radio to know the commissioner is

sitting in his vehicle wearing a white

cowboy hat and he held up the the flyer

from the grocery store to talk about

prices. Before you leave us,

Commissioner, because this is an awfully

authentic conversation. You a ribeye man

or a strip guy?

>> You know, here here's Ribe eyes is is is

probably right in the middle. Most

flavorful.

>> Uh uh tenderloin is the most tender

>> and strip is the most flavorful, but it

but it's not the tender. So, I'm kind of

a ribeye man. I like I like all three of

the combinations.

>> Had a feeling he was going to say that,

Tyler.

All right. Well, Texas Commissioner of

Agriculture Sid Miller. Mr.

Commissioner, thank you so much for

joining us here on Bloomberg.