{"id":2655467,"date":"2026-09-07T08:03:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T12:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigntrumps-orders-on-ranchers-might-be-a-badly-needed-step-in-the-right-direction\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T08:11:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T12:11:28","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigntrumps-orders-on-ranchers-might-be-a-badly-needed-step-in-the-right-direction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigntrumps-orders-on-ranchers-might-be-a-badly-needed-step-in-the-right-direction\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s Orders On Ranchers Might Be A Badly Needed Step In The Right Direction"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigntrumps-orders-on-ranchers-might-be-a-badly-needed-step-in-the-right-direction%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2655467&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President Donald Trump met with ranchers in teh Oval Office, signing two modest executive orders aimed at promoting domestic beef production. These orders include inquiries into federal laws restricting interstate meat commerce, and are framed as initial steps in a broader government effort to support ranchers, with more actions expected.U.S. cattle herds have been declining due to drought and rising costs, with a notable decrease in cattle farms and total beef cows from 2017 to 2026.Wolf predation has become a meaningful concern for cattle ranchers in the West since the reintroduction of gray wolves, which have increasingly preyed on cattle, complicating efforts to manage predator threats due to the species&#8217; endangered status since 1978. While Trump\u2019s directives are mainly procedural, they hint at possible future policies permitting more aggressive predator control. Legislative efforts like the PRIME Act, intended to expand meat processing options, remain stalled in Congress. Despite ongoing legislative delays,the administration\u2019s gestures indicate awareness of ranchers\u2019 challenges,especially after <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >decisions permitting increased foreign beef imports<\/a>. Rancher advocates view the Oval office meeting as a sign that their concerns are being acknowledged.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It\u2019s a definite maybe.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump met with ranchers in the Oval Office on Friday, signing two executive orders to incentivize the domestic production of beef: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2026\/09\/supporting-americas-ranchers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supporting America\u2019s Ranchers<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2026\/09\/promoting-fair-competition-in-livestock-markets-and-expanding-market-access-for-american-meat-producers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Promoting Fair Competition In Livestock Markets And Expanding Market Access for American Meat Producers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The orders were modest, and reactions were mixed. Rancher and advocate <a href=\"https:\/\/amandaradke.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amanda Radke<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RadkeAmanda\/status\/2096599372901368312\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> on social media that Trump\u2019s orders \u201caren\u2019t an overnight fix to the broken system that American beef cattle producers have had to operate under for so many years, but it\u2019s a historic step in the right direction that we should all celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The president\u2019s orders cover topics of considerable interest to cattlemen, but they also look like this, one of several directives to Secretary of Agriculture <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usda.gov\/our-agency\/about-usda\/our-secretary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brooke Rollins<\/a>: \u201cWithin 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall submit to the President a report identifying Federal statutory provisions, as well as trade considerations, that restrict or prohibit State-inspected or custom exempt meat products from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-reports-first-avian-flu-outbreak-among-dairy-herd\/\" title=\"Ohio&#039;s dairy herd experiences its first avian flu outbreak\">entering interstate commerce<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So in substance, the president has ordered the executive branch to send him a bunch of reports: on wolves and cattle predation, on country of origin labeling, on independent meat processing and simpler interstate market access for meat products. <\/p>\n<p>On social media, the White House explicitly framed the orders as an opening move, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WhiteHouse\/status\/2096069356778029251\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">writing<\/a> that Trump had \u201claunched a whole-of-government effort to protect &#038; fully support America\u2019s ranchers.\u201d Rollins echoed that theme: \u201cMORE TO COME SO SOON,\u201d she <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecRollins\/status\/2095926703981768939\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Cattle herds have been declining in the United States for years, and the number of cattlemen has declined alongside that loss. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nass.usda.gov\/Publications\/Highlights\/2024\/Census22_HL_Cattle%20and%20Cattle%20on%20Feed_final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">agricultural census<\/a> from the Department of Agriculture reported that the US went from 729,046 farms with beef cattle in 2017 to 622,162 farms with beef cattle in 2021, while a more recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nass.usda.gov\/Newsroom\/2026\/01-30-2026.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> estimated a total of \u201c27.6 million beef cows in the United States as of Jan. 1, 2026,\u201d down from 31.7 million in 2017. Drought and rising production costs have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fb.org\/intel\/markets\/imports-will-discourage-americas-beef-recovery\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shrunk herds<\/a>, as ranchers try to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drovers.com\/news\/buy-raise-or-wait-what-replacement-heifer-math-looks-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">do the math<\/a> on selling for immediate payment versus retaining cattle for breeding and growth.<\/p>\n<p>Wolf predation has become a serious problem for cattlemen in the West, especially following the reintroduction of the gray wolf. Cows are becoming wolf food. In California, researchers at UC Davis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucdavis.edu\/food\/news\/novel-study-calculates-cost-cattle-ranchers-expanding-wolf-population\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">concluded<\/a> that \u201c72% of wolf scat samples tested during the 2022 and 2023 summer seasons contained cattle DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"California\u2019s growing wolf crisis\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FjG9uHClrSA?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Populations have rebounded significantly since the gray wolf was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fws.gov\/species\/gray-wolf-canis-lupus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">listed as an endangered species<\/a>  in most of the country in 1978, preventing ranchers from killing them in response to predation. The Arizona rancher Casey Murph has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/caseymurph1\/status\/2096590570235797738\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described<\/a> \u201cthe feeling of having to ride away to the sound of a pack of Mexican Grey wolves tearing your border collie herding dog to pieces,\u201d one of many examples of ranchers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americaunwon.com\/p\/we-are-living-in-an-experiment-northern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arguing<\/a> that the threat of wolf attacks isn\u2019t well understood outside of cattle country.<\/p>\n<p>Again, Trump\u2019s orders regarding wolves are mostly tentative and procedural, directing Rollins and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to bring him more reports on the possibility of fully delisting gray wolves as an endangered species. But the final measure more directly suggests a return to a policy of killing at least some wolves in cattle country: \u201cThe Secretary of the Interior shall consider amending regulations or providing additional guidance, consistent with applicable law, to revise the Department\u2019s criteria for authorizing lethal gray wolf and Mexican wolf removal and to enable greater emergency responsiveness, including precision targeting, for situations involving predator threats to human safety or threats to domestic livestock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whatever the administration\u2019s real actions turn out to be, somewhere past the sixty day mark when these orders might turn into policies, Congress continues to just sit there like a speed bump. A <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/13\/nanny-state-faces-a-defeat-in-its-war-on-food-freedom-as-prime-act-advances\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pilot version<\/a> of the PRIME Act, allowing an expansion of meat processing for market into state-inspected facilities without USDA inspectors, passed the House and then <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/house\/6058340-massie-prime-act-trump-meatpacking-order\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">died in the Senate<\/a>. Similarly, legislation to require mandatory country of origin labeling for beef <a href=\"https:\/\/capitalpress.com\/2026\/08\/07\/senate-advances-beef-mcool-even-as-farm-bill-stalls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">is advancing<\/a> through the Senate committee process, but no one there seems to be in a hurry about it.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever happens next, advocates for ranchers are taking the meeting in the Oval Office as a sign that the administration is at least aware that it has a problem to address after the <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MeriwetherFarms\/status\/2090838577077002351\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unpopular decision<\/a> to encourage the duty-free importation of 300,000 metric tons of foreign ground beef. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a room of real ranchers, real rural Americans, real voices,\u201d independent journalist Keely Covello <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/americaunwon\/status\/2096207815509487710\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> after attending the meeting. \u201cAnd those voices were heard.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Chris Bray is a senior correspondent at The Federalist and a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army. He has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump signs beef orders; mixed rancher reactions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2655468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ranchers-in-the-oval-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[45248,19300,85232],"class_list":["post-2655467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-agriculture-policy","tag-ranchers","tag-trumps-orders"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ranchers-in-the-oval-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2655467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2655467"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2655467\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2655472,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2655467\/revisions\/2655472"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2655468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2655467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2655467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2655467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}