The Agriculture Department offered new initiatives for ranchers after President Trump said he would import more beef. The moves aren’t a quick fix.

President Donald Trump said Friday that he will make it easier for ranchers to process their own meat, in an effort to weaken the control the nation’s four largest meatpacking firms have over the process.

President Trump pledged Friday to allow farmers and ranchers to process their own meat in a salvo aimed at the industry's four dominant meatpackers, calling them a "nasty Monopoly." Why it matters: The president is under pressure to help a constituency his own policies have squeezed — increasing farmers' costs while raising prices for consumers on products like beef.

USDA Ranchers First Initiative targets cattle herd rebuilding, beef processing and support for beginning and veteran ranchers.

Facing a backlash from ranchers, Trump said he will take action to allow them to process their own meat ‒ a proposal pushed by Glenn Beck.

Farm and ranch groups have argued for years that consolidation in the meat processing sector has made it difficult for small producers to stay afloat because there are not many co

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins vows to cut red tape starting Monday, but leading beef organizations warn that bypassing federal meat inspections could jeopardize the global "gold standard" of U.S. food safety.

The announcement comes as the U.S. cattle herd sits at a 75-year low, according to the Trump administration. Officials said the new measures are designed to help ranchers retain breeding animals, recover from natural disasters, expand local meat processing and strengthen the agricultural supply chain.

To help lower food prices ahead of the midterms, Donald Trump is allowing an increase in beef imports — a move that has drawn Republican backlash. Now, after a suggestion from a conservative radio commentator,

Up” series examines the forces driving U.S. producers’ efforts to create heavier cattle, and what rising weights mean for the future of beef production.