President Donald Trump said on Aug. 28 that farmers and ranchers will in the future be able to process food they produce.
“For years I have heard that they have had a tremendous problem with the Big Processors, who many say are a nasty Monopoly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media website.
“There are, essentially, 4 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, can I?
“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. This should move quickly.”
“The administration is drafting several policy actions to further support those who feed the world–stay tuned!” Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, told The Epoch Times in an email.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement on X: "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."
Announcements on that front beginning Monday would include waiving red tape in processing, expanding the ability of ranchers to sell across state lines, and providing funding for small processors, Rollins said.
Earlier this week, Trump said on the Glenn Beck program that he would look into whether there are too many beef processing plant regulations.
Beck, who owns a ranch, suggested to Trump that Department of Agriculture regulations were impeding ranchers from processing their own animals, leaving them to rely on the nation's highly consolidated meat processing industry.
Four companies control about 85 percent of U.S. meat processing: Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS USA, and National Beef Packing Co.
The companies and an organization that represents them did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The American Farm Bureau declined to comment until more details of the development are made public.