Govind Tekale
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she will waive federal regulations to allow ranchers and farmers to process and sell meat without using the large commercial plants that dominate the industry.
Rollins described the move as a response to what she called a “nasty monopoly” in meatpacking. The Trump administration is framing the effort as part of its broader goal of domestic self-sufficiency. “It is a matter of national security that we feed and fuel ourselves,” Rollins said.
The change follows political pressure over foreign beef imports and consolidation in the U.S. meat processing sector. Large USDA-inspected plants are the standard route for ranchers and farmers to bring meat to market. Most direct-to-consumer beef sales have historically required USDA inspection. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service normally inspects meat processing plants.
Rollins said the department will announce additional details next week. She did not specify which regulations would be waived or how the new system would operate.
The move aligns with Trump’s pledge to reduce what he called excessive regulation on farmers and ranchers. “Big announcements are coming,” Rollins said.
Consolidation in meatpacking has been a longstanding concern for cattle producers. A small number of companies control a significant portion of the nation’s beef processing capacity, giving large processors substantial bargaining power over what farmers and ranchers receive for their animals. Past outbreaks show the stakes: a 2024 listeria outbreak tied to Boar’s Head meats led to the largest U.S. recall of its kind since 2011, and an E. coli outbreak later triggered a large ground-beef recall across several states.
Some ranchers have shown interest in on-farm processing or smaller facilities as alternatives to the current system. These operations would face different requirements than the large plants.
The federal government requires all meat sold commercially to be processed in USDA-inspected facilities, with narrow exceptions for certain traditional methods. How the administration will change those requirements remains to be seen.
