Trump pulls trigger on 'beef war' with plan to let farmers process their own meat

President Donald Trump has pulled the trigger on what could become a domestic "beef war," blasting the country's four dominant meat-processing companies as a "rotten monopoly" and vowing to let farmers and ranchers process their own livestock.

Trump said Saturday (local time) on Truth Social that he was authorizing the drafting of legal documents "to give farmers and ranchers the right to process their own products directly," according to Axios and other US outlets.

Without naming specific companies, Trump took direct aim at the four major processors — Tyson, Cargill, JBS and National Beef. "These big corporations are making the lives of farmers and ranchers miserable, and we cannot stand by and allow that," he said.

American farmers have been battered by the Trump administration's trade war and the conflict with Iran, particularly the prolonged rise in energy and fertilizer prices triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Mark Mueller, president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association and a farmer himself, said the combination of Trump's tariff policy and retaliatory measures from major trading partners including China had pushed the agricultural sector into its worst crisis since the 1980s.

The announcement puts Trump in the position of having to rescue a core constituency that his own policies have hurt — measures that have driven up farm operating costs and pushed consumer prices for beef and other staples higher.

Axios said the announcement came just one week after Trump unveiled a plan to temporarily ease restrictions on beef imports, a move that drew a backlash from the cattle industry. That earlier measure was aimed at cooling surging beef prices after a global drought drove US cattle inventories to record lows.

The Trump administration views the Wholesome Meat Act of 1967 as having effectively blocked small processors from entering the market, leaving ranchers with little choice but to rely on the four major companies.

Bill Bullard, CEO of the independent ranchers' group R-CALF, told agricultural publication Capital Press that federal regulations present too high a barrier for small processing plants to enter the market.

The PRIME Act, introduced last year, would allow meat processed at small facilities to be sold within a state without federal inspection, but the bill remains stalled in the House.

While specific implementation plans have not been disclosed, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on X, formerly Twitter, that the US Department of Agriculture would soon announce measures including reducing excessive regulatory burdens, supporting small processors and expanding sales across state lines.

Food safety groups, however, argue that the inspection standards under the Wholesome Meat Act must be maintained to protect consumers.

The Meat Institute, which represents large processors, said in a statement that it would monitor the details of any executive order, but stressed that "expanding processing opportunities must not come at the expense of weakening food safety standards." It added that federal and state inspection requirements are "essential safeguards for delivering safe and properly labeled meat to American families."

The nation's largest beef industry group also expressed strong concerns about the announcement. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association said it supports greater competition and deregulation but called weakening federal meat inspection and food safety standards "an error that must be urgently reconsidered." In a statement, the NCBA criticized the administration's series of market interventions, including the recent easing of import restrictions.

"Continued government intervention only adds uncertainty for producers who need to plan for the long term," the NCBA said, urging the administration to focus instead on reducing excessive regulation, stabilizing fuel and fertilizer prices, preventing foreign animal diseases and supporting small and mid-sized local processors.