Urgent Action Needed to Protect U.S. Sheep Industry and National Food Security
Carson Jorgensen
The President of the United States
Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
Over four decades, two generations, eight presidencies, and twenty U.S. Congresses, the Protect American Lamb organization and its predecessors have desperately tried to warn America’s leaders of the existential threat posed by excessive lamb imports to the American sheep industry, a crisis emblematic of a broader collapse in domestic agriculture. Without action in the next 2 weeks, the third largest lamb processing facility in the United States (Double J Lamb) will close its doors. Our cries of warning have become declarations of disaster.
Is it because we are losing our industry and our way of life? Of course. But it is also much, much more serious than that. What is at stake is the food security of a nation of 330 million people, all of whom have at least one thing in common – without food they die. Globalism and so-called open trade assumes a fairly prosperous and largely peaceful world. Importing food from all over the globe makes sense in such a world.
But after COVID, Ukraine, Syria, the cauldron of the Middle East – really too many conflicts and danger spots to mention – is there any doubt that is not the world we live in? After all that, have we learned nothing about raw inputs, production, and supply chains? In the world in which we actually live, offshoring America’s food production is about as short-sighted and foolish as can be. We are not talking only about the survival of our industry; we are talking about the survival of our nation. We find ourselves seriously wondering how future historians will judge today’s American leaders if this impending catastrophe is allowed to play out.
In the past, it was easy to write us off as just one more disgruntled industry, upset because “the market” has passed us by. We could be labeled as angry business owners of a bygone era seeking yet another government bailout. The complete closure of this vital processing facility takes us far beyond the impending crisis – it is now a catastrophic blow that underscores the urgency of our situation nationally.
Crisis in the American Sheep Industry
Since the early 1980s, when we appeared before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), we have warned of the devastating impact of foreign lamb imports—primarily from Australia and New Zealand—on our domestic market. Over those 40-plus years since, no meaningful action has been taken. In 2023, we petitioned the U.S. Trade Ambassador, going into great detail of how imports have crippled our industry. A few weeks ago, we traveled to Washington, D.C., and met with White House staff to reiterate this crisis. And the result? So far, another blind eye and deaf ear to our warnings.
Our petition shows lamb imports have increased over 2,300% in value since the early 1990s, capturing nearly 75% of the U.S. market. These imports, traded at a nearly 40% discount due to currency advantages, make it impossible for American producers to compete.
Since 1940, when the U.S. had 52.1 million sheep, our national herd plummeted to just 5 million in 2023. Since 1980, over half of our full-time producers have been forced out of business. We have called for serious trade protections—the current 10% tariff on Australian and New Zealand lamb is a good start, but still woefully inadequate. Industry leaders emphasize that tariffs of at least 30% are essential to restore competitiveness, alongside tariff-rate quotas that allow lower tariffs within a set limit and higher tariffs for excess imports to stabilize the market. Without immediate action, we risk losing a substantial portion of the commercial sheep industry this fall, making a recovery all but impossible.
Broader Collapse of American Agriculture
The sheep industry’s plight is merely one front of a larger crisis in U.S. agriculture, where we have become a NET importer of food. That reverses decades of trade surpluses. According to USDA’s Economic Research Service, the U.S. agricultural trade deficit has fallen from a $4 billion dollar surplus in 2020 to a projected $49.5 billion deficit in 2025. A staggering $53.5 billion dollar swing in 5 years! The long-term implications of that cascade of failure are staggering. Again, have we learned nothing from COVID?
This shift, fueled by surging imports of horticultural products, meats, and tropical goods, has left the American public reliant on foreign supply chains. This growing dependency is a clear and present danger to our national food security. It leaves us vulnerable to global disruptions and foreign policy shifts, while undermining rural communities and critical supply chains. Anyone looking to save family operations in American agriculture without including major trade reform is either delusional or dishonest.
Urgent Call to Action
The American sheep industry is a cornerstone of our agricultural heritage, but its collapse signals a broader threat to American agriculture and national security. The signs are there for anyone to see. The closure of key packing plants and the projected $49.5 billion agricultural trade deficit in 2025 are glaring warnings that our food production capacity is on the brink. After decades of unheeded warnings and direct appeals, further inaction is unfathomable.
We implore you to act immediately to prioritize American agriculture by implementing higher tariffs and tariff-rate quotas and addressing imports in negotiations to prevent further erosion. We need our elected leaders to act decisively before this harvest season brings irreparable losses and lasting failure.
Mr. President, I know that in your heart you understand what must be done, I have seen it in your actions. We cannot Make America Healthy Again, we cannot make America prosperous again, and we cannot Make America Great Again if we rely on foreign countries to feed our people!
We as American lamb producers are ready to work with you to save our industry and restore American agriculture to its own Golden Age.
Carson Jorgensen
On behalf of the: Protect American Lamb Coalition
Representing 1/5th of the US sheep herd
