Texas – Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller praised President Donald Trump’s proposal to strengthen the nation’s cattle industry by reducing federal regulations, expanding opportunities for independent beef processors and giving ranchers more options to sell beef directly to consumers.
Miller said the proposal could increase competition in the beef market, strengthen American cattle producers and allow ranchers to keep more of the money generated from the beef they produce.
“President Trump is absolutely right to take on the stranglehold the big meatpackers have on America’s cattle industry,” Miller said. “Four companies – some of them foreign-owned – control roughly 85 percent of beef processing, and for too long our ranchers have suffered in a market that simply isn’t competitive.”
Miller argued that the concentration of beef processing has contributed to higher prices and limited choices for consumers while making it more difficult for cattle producers to receive a larger share of the value of their products.
The agriculture commissioner said expanding opportunities for farmers and ranchers to process and market their own beef could help address those concerns.
“Giving farmers and ranchers more freedom to process and market their own beef, cutting red tape, strengthening independent processors, and opening more avenues for direct sales are exactly the kinds of America First reforms we need,” Miller said.
He added that food safety protections could remain in place while reducing regulations that he said unnecessarily benefit large meatpacking companies.
“We can enhance food safety without protecting foreign-owned interests in our food supply,” Miller said.
Miller said Trump’s proposal recognized the challenges facing cattle producers and could give independent ranchers more control over how their products reach consumers.
“President Trump understands something Washington too often forgets: the people raising the cattle need to have a fair shot at making a living from them,” Miller said.
He praised Trump for focusing on the concerns of American ranchers and called for the proposed changes to move forward quickly.
“Now let’s move fast, break up the bottlenecks, and put more power back in the hands of American producers and American families,” Miller said.
