NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged American ranchers to boost their beef production while on stage at CattleCon on Feb. 5.
“I’m begging you to increase the size of the herds,” Kennedy said during a discussion with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Buck Wehrbein in front of a packed ballroom of cattlemen in Music City Center.
In 1972, the United States had 132 million head of cattle, and that total livestock inventory dropped to 92 million in 2025, the HHS secretary said during Thursday’s event.
“A lot of producers are now, because of fluctuations and the market’s uncertainty, slaughtering the breeding cows, and I’d ask you to stop doing that,” Kennedy added.
America’s cattle inventory has dropped due to years of drought and rising costs, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Despite the setbacks, nonprofit research organization CattleFax reported that retail beef demand was record-strong in 2025.
“We want a lot of beef and we want to make it here in America,” Kennedy said on Thursday. “We don’t want to be importing it from other countries.”
Wehrbein suggested cattle population growth will take time but pointed out that herd numbers are expanding as demand rises.
Wehrbein also praised Kennedy’s controversial decision to flip the food pyramid, which now prioritizes protein.
“Hearing you mention the nutrients in beef is so good for us to hear,” he said.
“Whatever the lowest price they’re selling anywhere in the world, we will get that price or lower,” Kennedy said during his “Take Back Your Health” tour stop in Nashville.
“This is a very big deal,” President Donald Trump said during an address on Thursday night. “We’re going to save a lot of money and be healthy.”
