President Donald Trump took executive action on Friday allowing ranchers and farmers to process their own meat, being able to shoot Mexican gray wolves to counteract potential violence against herds, as well as clear “country of origin” labeling for beef.
Trump announced the processing news last week, saying in an Oval Office event on Friday that this will bring some needed relief for the agricultural industry, especially small businesses.
“We're going to give farmers and ranchers the right to process their own food,” he said, as the move is aimed to take some control away from the “Big Four” processors.
Up to 85 percent of beef, and high percentages of chicken and pork are processed by the same few processors, according to Farm Action.
.@joethomas73: "On behalf of rural America, farmers, and ranchers, we just want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to come in here today, tell our story, bring issues that are important to us that are affecting our livelihood and our ability to continue raising the best,… https://t.co/98j9XWO06y pic.twitter.com/KyFSmSNGsu
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 4, 2026
On the action against wolves, he said that it will “protect rural communities and cattle herds from predatory Mexican gray wolves,” adding that it is “costing them tens of millions of dollars and endangering not only herds, but people."
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins hinted earlier this week on X that there would be “major action” taken to make sure people “know where their food comes from.”
“Since 1980, we’ve lost 600,000 ranchers in this country,” Rollins said, noting the importance of keeping people in the ranching business.
“We’re just so grateful,” Rollins said regarding the two orders being signed by Trump.
“We do beef better in America than anywhere in the world,” she added, saying that the United States has remained competitive with beef production.
The announcements come after the president received some pushback over the decision to import beef into the U.S. for three months as a way of keeping prices down, which the National Cattleman's Beef Association said at the time that "flooding the market with government-subsidized, below-market beef is not the way to rebuild the American cattle herd."
"As we work to rebuild this herd and help our ranchers, for the next 90 days, the United States will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported with no out of quota tariff," the president posted to Truth Social on August 21. "We have a commitment that this beef will be sold at 25 percent below current market price."
During the Friday signing ceremony, Trump said that the beef will be imported from countries including Brazil and Argentina.
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