Showing posts with label Agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Agriculture. Show all posts

Saturday, September 5, 2026

Saps.



So, depending upon ranchers and farmers to be absolute saps, Trump published two executive ordres that largely do nothing.

The first one:

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Policy.  Ranchers play a vital role in our Nation’s food supply chain and cultural heritage.  These hardworking Americans ensure that our country has a reliable domestic source of high-quality animal protein products, and a secure, plentiful domestic ranching industry vindicates this country’s food security.  But the national herd is at a 75-year low, while consumer demand for beef has grown almost 10 percent over the past decade.  My Administration has already acted to support ranchers by, for example:  enforcing voluntary “Product of USA” labeling to give American ranchers the recognition they deserve for producing in the United States; mapping over 2 million additional acres of grazing land managed by the Department of the Interior and identifying nearly 1.6 million acres of vacant allotments managed by the United States Forest Service and opening them for Federal grazing permit applications across the West; withdrawing burdensome Biden-era regulations that imposed substantial compliance costs in the name of speculative environmental benefits; and implementing a number of financially beneficial tax law changes for ranchers, such as lowering Death Taxes and promoting more rapid expensing and depreciation policies.  More can and should be done to support this critical industry, and my Administration will continue to act to protect our domestic producers.

Sec. 2.  Comprehensive Policy and Regulatory Review.  Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the United States Trade Representative, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration shall submit to the President a report that assesses all executive department and agency (agency) regulations, guidance, and other agency policies affecting ranchers and that provides recommendations for action to promote financial viability and enhanced market access for American ranchers consistent with this order.

Sec. 3.  Helping Ranchers Combat Predation.  Within 90 days of the date of this order:

(a)  The Secretary of the Interior shall make a determination as to whether the gray wolf and the Mexican wolf have met the recovery criteria for delisting or downlisting under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and, if he determines that the recovery criteria has been met, shall begin the process of delisting or downlisting them.

This is really horseshit but plays into the old ranching belief that every predator must be killed.  M'eh.

(b)  The Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs, shall prepare and submit to the President a legislative recommendation to fully delist or downlist the gray wolf and the Mexican wolf under the ESA.

(c)  Upon a determination by the Secretary of the Interior that the ESA recovery criteria has been met with respect to the gray wolf and the Mexican wolf, the Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall engage with States to encourage them to delist gray wolves and Mexican wolves from any State-specific lists of protected species and to revise their standards for lethal takings of gray wolves and Mexican wolves to assist ranchers in combating predation.

(d)  The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall consider developing or amending their respective Departments’ producer compensation regulations, evidentiary standards, and program handbooks, consistent with applicable law, to ensure that all depredation claims adjudicated by their respective Departments are consistently, accurately, and expeditiously assessed, including by setting adequate standards to investigate depredations by gray wolves and Mexican wolves and by considering additional factors beyond subcutaneous hemorrhaging when appropriate.

(e)  The Secretary of the Interior shall consider amending regulations or providing additional guidance, consistent with applicable law, to revise the Department’s 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.

Sec. 4.  Country-of-Origin Labeling.  Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the United States Trade Representative, shall review all statutory and regulatory authorities that may permit the establishment of mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef products and shall provide the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy with a summary of such authorities as well as an economic analysis of the impacts of mandatory country-of-origin labeling that reflects current conditions and modernized practices.  Based on these assessments, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the United States Trade Representative and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, may issue or amend regulations, to the extent permitted under applicable law, to require mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef products, or may, in further coordination with the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, develop legislative recommendations regarding such labeling.

Sec. 5.  Supporting American Consumers.  To the extent consistent with applicable law, the head of each agency shall take such steps as may be appropriate to ensure that the measures directed in this order, as well as other measures taken by my Administration with respect to food production and supply, benefit American consumers in the form of lower prices to the maximum extent possible.

Sec. 6.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d)  The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of Agriculture.

                               DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    September 4, 2026.

Well, there you go. Reviewing, considering, and probably shooting gray wolves.  

That's not going to do diddly, but some ranchers will be besotted enough to believe that it will.

Saps.

Here's the other one.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  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.  It is the policy of the United States to support these goals and reduce barriers to ranchers processing their own product for sale to consumers by 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 consistent with applicable law.  This order directs more vigorous enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (Public Law 67-51, 42 Stat. 159,7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) (the “Act”), and the maximum use of existing authorities to facilitate greater interstate market access for eligible meat products while maintaining the highest standards of food safety that help make United States born, raised, harvested, and processed food the best in the world.

Sec. 2.  Robust Enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.  (a)  The Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) shall, consistent with the Act, and all other applicable law:

(i)    prioritize and expand investigations into potential violations of the Act by packers and other covered entities, with particular attention to unfair, unjustly discriminatory, or deceptive practices; undue or unreasonable preferences or advantages; and practices that restrain commerce or manipulate prices;

(ii)   increase resources, staffing, and investigative capacity within the Packers and Stockyards Division of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service, the USDA Office of General Counsel, and the USDA Office of Inspector General;

(iii)  coordinate closely with the Department of Justice (DOJ), in keeping with the September 26, 2025, memorandum of understanding between the USDA and the DOJ Antitrust Division, to refer cases for appropriate enforcement and to pursue complementary antitrust actions where appropriate; and

(iv)   within 60 days of the date of this order, submit to the President a report detailing current enforcement actions, resource needs, and a plan for heightened enforcement for the coming year.

(b)  The Secretary shall review existing regulations, guidance, and enforcement policies under the Act and, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, revise them to strengthen protections for producers and ensure effective deterrence of prohibited conduct.

Sec. 3.  Expanding Interstate Market Access for Eligible Meat Products.  (a)  The Secretary shall take actions consistent with applicable law to expand opportunities for interstate shipment of meat products, including by:

(i)    accelerating outreach and streamlining processes to increase State participation in the USDA’s State Meat and Poultry Inspection Program, the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program, and the Talmadge-Aiken Cooperative Inspection Program;

(ii)   creating technical assistance and training programs for small and very small meat processors;

(iii)  establishing, or collaborating with partners to establish, an easily accessible web resource with comprehensive information regarding local meat slaughter and processing availability, including federally inspected establishments that facilitate interstate shipment;

(iv)   modernizing meat inspection to sharpen focus on core food safety, boost processing efficiency and technology, and lower costs to add value for ranchers and consumers;

(v)    removing unnecessary Food Safety Inspection Service inspection reporting requirements and overly prescriptive requirements, consistent with applicable law, that do not advance essential food safety needs; and

(vi)   establishing a coordinator position within USDA to implement these actions and serve as a conduit to ranchers and small and medium sized processors.

(b)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall submit to the President a report assessing current participation in the State-Federal cooperative inspection programs, identifying remaining statutory or regulatory barriers to greater interstate market access for State-inspected products, and providing recommendations for action to address any such challenges.

(c)  Within 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 entering interstate commerce.

(d)  The Secretary shall take actions as appropriate and consistent with applicable law to establish a Strengthening Processing for U.S. Ranchers guaranteed loan program for small and regional beef processors to help these processors continue operation, expand their footprint, and increase diversity of animal proteins being processed. 

Sec. 4.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d)  The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of Agriculture.

                               DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    September 4, 2026.

Reviewing, reporting, blah blah blah.

Yup, once again:

The GOP's useful idiots in agriculture.


But, this way, farmers and ranchers will be able to feel better about voting themselves into jobs as Walmart greaters.

Saturday, August 29, 2026

Trump Moves To Allow Ranchers And Farmers To Process Their Own Food

Trump tries to backstep after a major screw up.

Trump Moves To Allow Ranchers And Farmers To Process Their Own Food

While this will aid beef producers, it doesn't address the existential problem of the packing industry monopoly.  Breaking that, and particularly breaking that on Distributist principals, would have a massive impact.  That won't be happening, however.  

Instead, this basically would allow producers to sell their own beef across state lines.  While some people will buy beef in that fashion, most people won't, and that doesn't do much at all for the cost of beef sold at restaurants and the like.

As noted, applying the Sherman Anti Trust Act to the meat packing industry would have a real impact.  A bigger one would be limiting corporate ownership to a single packing facility.

All of this will have no immediate impact on meat prices. The US cattle inventories, i.e.., the herd size, have not been this low since 1941.  The reasons for that are varied, by herd reduction due to drought caused by climate change is a major part of it.  In some ways, this is just a minor way of trying to repair the damage done by Trump allowing the importation of foreign beef, which has the added theater element of being introduced, supposedly, by Glenn Beck in an interview, something that just screams out the entire thing being something that is pitched towards farmer and rancher ignorance.

Small herd size is a problem, but it will take years to address.  By that time, given the very small herd size, we may very well be seeing a meat production climate that hasn't existed since the introduction of refrigerated rail cars in 1878.  The massive increase in the Western herd during the Civil War and the invention of the refrigerated rail car shifted the American diet from pork to beef.  Various factors have been making inroads on beef for years, and the price at the counter, which this will certainly not immediately address, is shifting it once again, and has been for many  years.

Whether this will serve as a salve on farmers and ranchers so they can justify voting for a party that has screwed them for years is yet to be seen.

Related thread:

The GOP's useful idiots in agriculture.

Sunday, August 23, 2026

The GOP's useful idiots in agriculture.

An old friend of mine who is a rancher has been somewhat active in this year's election cycle.  He is, of course, a far right Republican.

I say of course as just about every rancher and farmer in Wyoming over the age of 40, and quite a few over the age of 35, are diehard right wing full blown MAGA Republicans.  Below the age of 40 things start to change a lot.  Most are Republicans, but a lot aren't diehard.  They're Republicans the same way everyone in Wyoming is a Republican, pretty much.  Generally conservative.

But above 40, they're in lockstep with Donald Trump.

My friend, this cycle, had a big Chuck Gray up near the DOT fence.  This wasn't too surprising as his grandson works for Gray.* **

Well, now, all of a sudden the noted friend is posting on the disaster of letting foreign beef into the country.  So are a bunch of other ranchers I know.

The Republican Party has been pretty much screwing ranchers and farmers since 1929.  It was the Democrats who save farmers and ranchers during the Great Depression.  Most small and mid sized ranches would have been utterly destroyed but for the Taylor Grazing Act.  

The Trump Administration, for its part, looks at farmers and ranchers the way the Democrats once looked at African Americans, people who could reliably be counted on to vote for the party no matter what.  In recent election cycles African Americans proved they were no longer reliable.  So far, people in Agriculture aren't showing any thought at all.

Indeed, they're showing cognitive disconnected.

This morning I've seen all sorts of complaints from ranchers about how they're getting killed in this economy, as noted.

And now Trump's bringing in below market cost foreign beef.

No shit.  YOU VOTED FOR IT.

Inflation, particularly of fuel, caused by Donald Trump's pet illegal war. The same with fertilizer costs.

WAKE THE CRAP UP.

The GOP is not coming to save you.  It's coming to screw you.

Indeed, trade talks just broke off with Canada.

Double digit inflation, caused by a massive rise in energy costs, is about to occur.

Footnotes:

Gray has more affection for Trump than Natalie Harp and Melanija Knavs combined.

The grandson is an interesting case in and of himself.  He's undoubtedly the first member of his extended family to go to university.  He's in law school right now.  He's also a diehard MAGA, and indeed, maybe even beyond that.  Now the question of how that happens is another matter.

The common myth, and it is a myth, about young people in conservative homes is that they go to college, where they lose all of their values, and their faith, emerging hardcore screaming liberals if not Bolsheviks.  This is, it is believed, because they're indoctrinated in college by leftist professors.

It's largely bull and in the scientific disciplines definitely bull.  Majors in geology, for example, aren't going to have time for liberal indoctrination.

For that matter, majors in English probably don't either.

So what's going on here.

Well, a person from a really conservative Protestant background may in fact find a lot of what they learn in college shocking.  The Earth isn't 5,000 years old.  Evolution isn't a fib.  Conquering the West wasn't bringing enlightenment to an oppressed people and, in fact, some of those being conquered where already Christian.  The US isn't bestowed by God with a new Israelite like mission, and for that matter, the modern state of Israel does some outright horrible things.

Faced with that onslaught, young people are in fact faced with the choice of accepting that Pastor Jim back at his own do it yourself Evangelical Church is flat out wrong on a lot of stuff, and Mom and Dad are ignorant, or concluding that everything they're being taught is a fib.

Most will conclude, to some degree, that Pastor Jim is wrong on a lot, and that Mom and Dad are ignorant on a lot of stuff.

Now, I'll note, this shouldn't impact member of the Apostolic faiths at all, but in the US some Apostolic Christians are heavily Protestantized and have bought in, through ignorance, to a lot of what the Evangelical far right believes.

Anyhow, a lot of this is about to collapse on an enormous scale, as we'll soon see.

**There was a good Republican candidate running against Gray, Christensen.  He had worked for the BLM.

Well, we're getting instead a Californian who worked for his daddy's radio station.

Friday, August 21, 2026

Lex Anteinternet: Subsidiarity Economics 2026. Agriculturalist and leopards won't eat my face. Cattle imports.

Lex Anteinternet: Subsidiarity Economics 2026. The Times more or les...: We weren't really ready to start a new one of these, but Chuck Gray has been in such rare form recently as it starts to look like he...

August 21, 2026

Why the US economy is ringing alarm bells


Bessent was sent out yesterday to try to calm fears, but ended up being ridiculed.  The US is buying back bonds which did help stabilize the bond market, at least for now.

And this:


First of all, beef prices have nothing to do with Joe Biden.  Secondly, the "thank you for our attention" line is stupid.

The real stupidity here is that American agriculturalist support the GOP, which routinely hurts them.  Ranchers and Farmers are solidly members of the Leopards Won't Eat My Face Party.

Saturday, July 11, 2026

Wyoming Catholic Cowboys - raw and real: Saddle Room

Wyoming Catholic Cowboys - raw and real: Saddle Room: There's one building on the place that we haven't done much with. It was built as a grain bin, but for the last 30+ years it has bee...

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Wyoming Catholic Cowboys - raw and real: Foster Branding

Wyoming Catholic Cowboys - raw and real: Foster Branding: Awhile back, Paul and Laura Foster invited me to their branding in the Sheridan County. Fun to look forward to and even funner to partake in...

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Lex Anteinternet: The 2026 Election, 10th Edition. The Setting the s...

Lex Anteinternet: The 2026 Election, 10th Edition. The Setting the s...:   We start off this edition with what might be a little light at the end of a tunnel: GOP Senate Challengers Emerge To Take On Harriet Hagem...

April 30, 2026

Protect Wyoming ran an ad this morning in the Tribune against Bill Allemand.

Hunters and fishermen should really oppose Allemand, who following the corner crossing ruling of the Federal Court sponsored a Draconian bill on hunting trespassing.   While he claims no present interest in it, he's from a well known Powder River Basin Wyoming ranching family, a region of the state that features very limited land access.  He's fighting a charge for drunk driving in Johnson County presently.

He's being challenged by Bar Nunn Mayor Peter Boyer, who got cross wise in a Bar Nunn town council meeting according to news reports.  Allemand quixotically adamantly opposed a proposed nuclear generator project north of the small Natrona County Casper bedroom community.  The WFC seemed to align with that opposition, showing it thinks so little that its only concept of the energy industry is grounded in fossil fuels.

Democrat Keenan Morgan is also running against Allemand.  Morgan and Boyer are from Bar Nunn, Allemand from Midwest.  The district covers a large amount of territory but uniquely features three small towns, Midwest, Edgerton and Bar Nunn, with Bar Nunn being by far the largest of the three.  House District 58 also includes a sliver of Casper and the large unincorporated area north of Highway 20/26 in Natrona County.

It'll be interesting to see how Allemand, who has a semi uncontrollable temper, reacts Protect Wyoming's advertisement.

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Farmers turn on Trump: “It’s gonna be the nail in the coffin.” -

 


Frankly, it speaks ill of me, but I have almost no sympathy for farmers who voted for Trump.

Unfortunately, it's not only the nail in their coffins, but in everyone's else's as well.