The beef industry has received increased attention from the Trump administration in recent months. Executive orders have been drafted, social media posts have gone viral and federal agencies have announced funding for programs, old and new.
Once the dust finally settled, Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and our members found ourselves asking whether these actions resulted in meaningful, lasting steps to strengthen the American beef industry, or if the attention would ultimately be temporary. We’d like to break down a few of the announcements and share where the association stands to help cut through the noise.
On Aug. 21, President Trump declared 300,000 metric tons of ground beef were to be imported tariff-free for the next 90 days, with the assurance that the beef would be sold at 25% below current market prices. While the association supports making groceries more affordable for Americans, increasing beef imports is not the solution to higher retail prices. Forcing retail prices down only delays progress and injects instability into a market already working to correct itself. Thankfully, consumer beef demand remains strong. As the herd rebuilds, beef supplies will increase and prices will normalize, but it will take time.
Ten days after that announcement, USDA released its Ranchers First Initiative, which includes five provisions for different beef industry sectors.
Among them is the Beef Retention and National Development, or BRAND, endorsement, which would allow producers to insure the economic value of retaining a heifer for breeding for up to two years through the Livestock Risk Protection program. At enrollment, the policy establishes a protected value based on the heifer’s expected slaughter value. If her projected or actual slaughter value later exceeds the value of retaining her as breeding stock, the policy would cover the difference, reducing the financial risk of retention.
Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association has called for a comprehensive review of the Livestock Risk Protection program to include breeding stock coverage. Following market testing, we are hopeful that this option will become available to ranchers. We are committed to ensuring any enhancements to the LRP program strengthen risk protection for producers without increasing market volatility.
Additionally through the Ranchers First Initiative,mUSDA will allow the Emergency Conservation Program, which provides financial and technical assistance to restore agricultural land and infrastructure damaged by disasters, to be used on acres enrolled in Grassland Conservation Reserve Program. Following wildfires and other natural disasters, landowners participating in Grassland CRP will have another tool to repair fences, restore land and recover grazing capacity while maintaining their CRP commitments after a disaster.
USDA is also creating a SPUR Guaranteed Loan Program to expand and strengthen small and regional meat-processing capacity. The program will provide financing to support processor cooperatives, expand existing small businesses and help new or regional facilities increase processing capacity — creating more opportunities for cattle to be processed closer to where they are raised.
In the Ranchers First Initiative, USDA pledged to work with other federal agencies to increase the purchase of American beef for federally supported food programs and institutions. The goal is to create additional demand for domestically raised and processed beef by directing federal purchasing toward American products, including beef served at military and veterans’ facilities.
USDA is also establishing an initiative focused on military veterans getting started in ranching, building on existing programs that provide access to financing, conservation assistance and risk-management tools. The initiative also calls for USDA to work with the Departments of Veterans Affairs and War to connect transitioning service members with agricultural careers, helping create pathways into ranching for those who may not inherit land or an existing operation.
Not long after U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the Ranchers First Initiative, Trump released two executive orders on Sept. 4 focused on promoting fair competition in livestock markets and expanding market access for meat producers. An executive order directs federal agencies on how to exercise authority they already possess; it does not, on its own, change federal law or amend an act of Congress. The Sept. 4 orders focus on exercising existing authorities, directing agency action and identifying areas where additional congressional action may be needed.
The orders direct USDA to strengthen enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, increasing resources for investigating potentially unfair, deceptive or discriminatory practices. They also call for expanding interstate market opportunities, modernizing meat inspection, providing technical assistance to small processors and establishing a guaranteed loan program to help small and regional beef processors continue or expand operations.
Without adequate packing capacity, the size of our industry is not determined by our ability to produce more cattle to meet a growing consumer demand, but by how many hooks are available. Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association supports expanded market access for producers, however, meat must be inspected properly to protect consumer trust in our product.
The second order directs USDA to review its existing authority to establish mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef and assess the potential economic impacts. USDA may pursue regulations where legally authorized or develop legislative recommendations for Congress. For producers, this means MCOOL is under formal review, but the order itself does not immediately establish mandatory labeling.
Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association supports voluntary guidelines that will facilitate private, marketdriven efforts to label beef according to its country of origin.
Throughout this landscape of executive orders, new initiatives and election-based rallies, you can count on this — our association will continue to promote meaningful change for cattle raisers and landowners.
