President Donald Trump directed his administration Friday to prepare legal documents intended to make it easier for farmers and ranchers to process and sell their own meat, two days after Glenn Beck raised the issue during an interview with the President.
The proposal could expand local processing capacity and give producers alternatives to the country’s dominant beef packers. However, Trump did not sign a final order Friday, and existing federal inspection and sales restrictions remain in effect.
Trump Directs Administration to Draft Plan
Trump announced the move in a Friday post on Truth Social, saying farmers and ranchers have faced longstanding difficulties dealing with large processors.
“There are, essentially, 4 of them, a very non competitive number, and they make life miserable for our wonderful Farmers and Ranchers,” Trump wrote. “So, in order to break this powerful monopoly, with much of its ownership based outside of the U.S., I am authorizing legal documents to be drawn in order to allow Farmers and Ranchers to be given the right to PROCESS THEIR OWN FOOD,” Trump added. “This should move quickly.”
The wording is important: Trump authorized the preparation of legal documents but did not immediately change federal law or USDA regulations.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on X that the administration expects “big announcements” beginning Monday. She listed reduced processing red tape, expanded interstate sales for ranchers, additional support for smaller processors, and the rescission of outdated guidance among the forthcoming steps, Reuters reported.
We are on it Mr. President!
Our great AMERICAN ranchers produce the highest-quality, most incredible beef in the world AND it is a matter of national security that we be able to feed and fuel ourselves.
Big announcements starting Monday — including:
✔️ waiving red tape in… https://t.co/dDSHH3dnFV
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) August 28, 2026
The administration had not disclosed whether the plan would take the form of an executive order, agency directive, proposed regulation, or combination of measures.
Beck Raised Processing Barriers Wednesday
The announcement followed Trump’s Wednesday appearance on The Glenn Beck Program.
Beck, who owns a ranch, urged the President to examine what he called the “meat processing cartel.” He argued that USDA regulations make it difficult for ranchers and independent businesses to establish smaller processing plants.
“This could be a very good call for ranchers,” Trump responded during the interview. “I’ve been hearing only bad about—it’s four places, and it’s a monopoly.”
The industry is highly concentrated, although concentration alone does not establish the existence of an illegal monopoly.
The four largest meatpackers handle approximately 85% of U.S. steer and heifer purchases, according to the USDA’s Economic Research Service. The dominant beef packers are Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS USA, and National Beef.
The Justice Department is investigating possible collusion and price manipulation among major beef processors, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. No charges have been announced, and an investigation does not establish wrongdoing.
Farmers Can Process Meat, but Sales Are Restricted
Farmers and ranchers are not completely prohibited from processing their own animals.
Current federal law includes personal-use and custom-slaughter exemptions. Meat processed under those exemptions may generally be consumed by the animal’s owner, members of the owner’s household, nonpaying guests, and employees, but it cannot ordinarily be sold to the public, according to Section 623 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act.
Meat sold commercially generally must come from an inspected facility. State-inspected meat can ordinarily be sold only within that state. Qualifying small state-inspected processors participating in USDA’s Cooperative Interstate Shipment program may sell across state lines.
Trump’s plan could expand an exemption, make it easier for small facilities to qualify for inspection, broaden interstate sales, or combine those approaches. The administration has not released sufficient details to determine which rules will change.
Congress has also considered the bipartisan PRIME Act. A modified version included in the House-passed 2026 Farm Bill would allow states to establish pilot programs permitting certain custom-processed meat to be sold directly to consumers within the state.
Products would have to carry labels identifying the processor, animal owner, place where the animal was raised, and slaughter date, along with notice that the meat was not federally inspected, according to Rep. Thomas Massie’s office. The legislation has not become law.
Lower Prices Are Possible but Not Guaranteed
Expanded local processing could give ranchers more buyers, reduce transportation distances, shorten processing wait times, and create additional opportunities for producers to sell directly to consumers.
USDA has already committed up to $500 million through its Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers program to support federally inspected small and midsize beef facilities. The program does not authorize uninspected retail sales.
Lower consumer prices are possible but not guaranteed. Small processors face equipment, labor, sanitation, refrigeration, inspection, packaging, and distribution expenses. Large plants benefit from economies of scale that can reduce processing costs.
USDA economists have described the tradeoff: large plants can lower per-unit processing costs and wholesale meat prices, while having fewer packers can reduce competition for livestock and depress prices paid to producers, according to the agency’s Allowing more local meat processing would not automatically result in fewer fillers or additives.
Ingredients are determined by the individual product and processor. Federal rules require ingredients in processed meat products to appear on the label in descending order by weight, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Direct sales could give consumers greater access to ranchers and more information about how animals were raised and processed, but the forthcoming policy does not itself establish new ingredient restrictions.
Industry Raises Food-Safety Concerns
The Meat Institute, which represents meatpacking companies, has previously cautioned against allowing meat processed without inspection to enter commercial markets.
Trump did not say that sanitation, labeling, or food-safety requirements would be eliminated.
The practical consequences will depend on the legal documents Trump ordered and the USDA policies expected Monday. Until those measures are released and take effect, farmers and ranchers must continue following existing federal and state inspection requirements.
Provided by Dallas Express
