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DES MOINES — The U.S. Department of Agriculture rolled out a plan Wednesday to help “strengthen” the cattle industry and lower consumer prices for beef.
The plan comes three weeks into the government shutdown and shortly after a proposal from President Donald Trump to import beef from Argentina to lower prices, which was opposed by cattle industry groups.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a news release Wednesday her department’s plan will “expedite deregulatory reforms, boost processing capacity” and work “across the government to fix longstanding common-sense barriers for ranchers.”
“America’s food supply chain is a national security priority for the Trump Administration,” Rollins said in the release. “We are committed to ensuring the American people have an affordable source of protein and that America’s ranchers have a strong economic environment where they can continue to operate for generations to come.”
Advancement of the plan includes a memorandum of understanding between USDA and the U.S. Department of the Interior, to “streamline and expand” ranchers’ abilities to graze on federal lands. The plan is to be announced in November.
The plan said it will prioritize grazing on the estimated 24 million acres of vacant grazing allotments across the country, and USDA plans to prioritize grazing as a form of wildlife management. The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service are also set to work with USDA to streamline permitting for ranchers to graze these lands.
The plan calls for collaboration across several agencies to develop “new standards of evidence” that allow ranchers to be compensated for livestock they lose to wolves, coyotes, bears or other predators. The massive budget law passed and enacted this summer, known as the “one big beautiful bill” also allows the Farm Service Agency’s indemnity programs to give ranchers coverage of up to 100% of market value for livestock lost to predators.
Rollins said the plan incentivizes new producers to take up the “noble vocation of ranching.” The plan calls for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to “include language encouraging applicants to promote outreach and education focused on ranching” on grant applications.
According to USDA data, cattle and cow inventories in the U.S. are on a declining trajectory, as are the number of farms in the country.
The second prong of the USDA plan calls for “transparent” labeling via Food Safety and Inspection Service enforcement of “Product of the USA” labeling, fair beef markets and enhanced local processing.
According to the plan, USDA will launch another round of funding for the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program to support small meat processors.
