In a recent statement on X, President Trump announced new authorization for American farmers and ranchers to process their own food. In the post, Trump writes, “Ranchers and farmers have always been a number one priority for me. They work very hard, are smart, efficient, and immaculately clean, but for years I’ve heard that they have had a tremendous problem with the big processors, who many say are a nasty monopoly.”
“There are essentially four of them, a very non-competitive number, and they make life miserable for our wonderful farmers and ranchers, and I can’t let that happen. So, in order to break this powerful monopoly, with much of its ownership based outside of the U.S., I’m authorizing legal documents to be drawn in order to allow farmers and ranchers to be given the right to process their own food. This should move quickly,” Trump added.
In response to this post, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins also said in a post on X, “Our great American ranchers produce the highest quality, most incredible beef in the world, and it is a matter of national security that we are able to feed and fuel ourselves.”
Secretary Rollins also hinted at some announcements that will be happening soon, including waiving red tape and processing, expanding ranchers’ ability to sell across state lines, rescinding outdated guidance, adding technology for faster safety data, growing real support for small processors, expanding truth in labeling.
Audio Reporting by Elizabeth Sanders for Southeast AgNet.