Shortly after formalizing plans to increase foreign beef imports by 300,000 metric tons, President Donald Trump announced two executive orders intended to support American ranchers and promote market competition.
Gathered in the Oval Office with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and a group of ranchers, Trump signed two orders Sept. 4 to implement new policies that he called “the largest ever government effort to change all federal rules and regulations necessary to support our ranchers and our farmers.”
The two executive orders—Supporting America’s Ranchers, and Promoting Fair Competition in Livestock Markets and Expanding Market Access for American Meat Producers—address gray wolves, country-of-origin labeling (COOL), Packers and Stockyards Act enforcement and meat processing expansion, among other actions.
During the executive order signing, Trump also confirmed to reporters that the increase of lean beef trimming imports with no above-quota tariff would be coming from Brazil and Argentina, and potentially other countries.
Trump was also questioned on the status and timeline of COOL, which he said was going to be up to Congress to decide.
“Congress has something to do with that one. So, we’re putting it in front of Congress right away,” he said, adding that “we’re working hard on getting the farm bill passed.”
In addition to Trump’s executive orders, USDA also announced four additional actions to follow up on the October 2025 USDA Plan to Fortify the American Beef Industry and the Ranchers First Initiative released shortly before the executive orders.
Executive order details
Trump’s Supporting America Ranchers executive order directs agency leaders to “assess all regulations, guidance, and any other policy affecting ranchers and prepare further actions to promote ranchers’ financial viability and market access.”
In addition, the order directs the review of whether gray wolves or Mexican gray wolves meet the criteria for delisting or downlisting under the Endangered Species Act, and to begin the delisting or downlisting process with individual states. The order also directs the Interior and Agriculture departments to update wolf-livestock compensation standards.
Trump’s order called for the review of mandatory COOL (MCOOL) for beef products, and the consideration of new regulations and legislative recommendations regarding such labeling.
The second executive order, Promoting Fair Competition in Livestock Markets and Expanding Market Access for American Meat Producers, addresses producers’ ability to process and sell their own meat, along with expanding market access.
“American ranchers want to be able to butcher, process, package, and sell their meat to consumers across State lines while maintaining the highest standards of food safety and avoid being overcharged by monopolistic practices by meat processors,” the order read.
The order directs the prioritization of investigations into potential Packers and Stockyards Act violations by packers and other entities, and to strengthen protections for producers.
“President Trump is committed to promoting fair competition in livestock and meat markets, protecting producers and small processors from unfair, deceptive, or monopolistic practices, and expanding legitimate market opportunities for American-raised livestock and meat products,” the order read.
The order also calls for the modernization of meat inspections to remove unnecessary and burdensome requirements, and to help provide greater interstate market access for state-inspected products. This includes creating a USDA coordinator position to expand federal licensing and connect producers to inspection options, and provide resources for small and very small processors.
“We’re creating a program where small and medium-sized and large ranchers can sell their products directly to consumers so that they don’t have to go through the Big Four processors and middlemen,” Trump said at the Oval Office signing. “They’re not going to be happy when they hear this. I don’t know who they are, but they’re going to be coming at me.”
USDA adds to Ranchers First Initiative
USDA said its additional actions were timely as the U.S. maintains the smallest cattle herd since the ’50s and ranchers are working to rebuild the herd.
“For the past 19 months, USDA has worked tirelessly to defend and promote our nation’s ranchers,” Rollins said in a statement. “Through our Beef Plan and the Ranchers First Initiative we are working to continue increasing our nation’s heifer retention rate.”
The additional Ranchers First Initiative actions include:
• Increasing the number of grazing lands involved in the Conservation Reserve Program by enrolling nearly 1 million new acres.
• Increasing the number of producers and plants in the Agricultural Marketing Service Remote Grading Program, which adopts technology to modernize beef grading services.
• Increasing the adoption of the Instrument-Enhanced Grading Program to reduce grader staffing, resulting in cost savings.
• Focusing on combatting instances of agricultural lawfare, “particularly cases involving unfair or excessive eminent domain claims.”
Industry reactions
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall was present for the signing of the executive orders, which he said addressed several issues impacting ranchers, but noted that he encouraged the president to reverse the plan to increase beef imports.
“I had the important opportunity today to speak with President Trump after the Oval Office event to let him know that the plan to increase beef imports is hurting farm families,” Duvall said. “We’ll continue to urge the administration to reverse the decision to increase imports before cattle prices fall further.”
The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) said it appreciated the orders’ focus on beef labeling, predator control, Packers and Stockyards Act enforcement and support for meat inspection and small processors.
“Even as we welcome attention to these long-standing priorities, USCA does not ignore the broader market context,” the group noted. “Record beef imports and recent import decisions have shaken cattle markets at a time when producers are already struggling with high input costs, drought, wildfire, and trade uncertainty.”
The group said it would continue to work with the administration to work on long-term solutions for American cattle producers and consumers.
The Meat Institute said it appreciated the focus on strengthening the beef supply chain and lowering consumer prices but expressed concern with implementing MCOOL.
“With beef supplies at a 75-year low and demand strong, now is not the time to add unnecessary costs and complexity to the beef supply chain or risk putting further upward pressure on prices,” the group said. “Additional consumer costs could jeopardize the strong beef demand the industry has enjoyed. The voluntary label should be given a chance to succeed before Congress repeats a burdensome and costly regulatory mistake.”
Environmental groups objected to provisions in the orders that could lead to gray wolf delisting or downlisting. “Once again we see this administration attempting to override the checks and balances provided by bedrock environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act in order to create industry carve outs and distract from other bad policies that are proving unpopular,” said Leia Barnett, New Mexico Conservation Lead for WildEarth Guardians. — Anna Miller Fortozo, WLJ managing editor
