dakotafreepress.com · Cory Allen Heidelberger · September 8, 2026
SD Cattlemen: Trump Distracts from Beef-Policy Failure with Dangerous Plan to Throttle Meat Inspections – Dakota Free Press
# SD Cattlemen: Trump Distracts from Beef-Policy Failure with Dangerous Plan to Throttle Meat Inspections
Published 2026-09-08 by Cory Allen Heidelberger
Last week Donald Trump issued executive orders (notice how he never works on actual legislation through the regular constitutional process and continues to think he can rule by fiat? have we figured out yet that he uses executive orders because he can’t even cooperate with a Republican-controlled Congress?) crafted to appease the American beef producers he’s slapping around with his previously announced beef-import/communist-price-control plan.
South Dakota’s livestock producers see one of Friday’s orders, a proposal to get rid of USDA meat inspections on meat that producers sell directly to customers and devolve that responsibility to states, as a dangerous distraction:
> The South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association opposed Trump’s announcement in a post of their own, calling it a “distraction” over Trump’s policy announcement to bring in more foreign beef in attempt to lower grocery store prices for consumers. > > The association said Trump’s plan to bring in foreign beef “undercut American producers” and the newest plan “could undermine consumer confidence.” It stressed concerns over selling uninspected meat into commercial markets, saying it would threaten consumer confidence in American-produced meats. > > Currently, meat is inspected by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Federal law generally doesn’t allow ranchers to slaughter and process meat on their own for sale. > > The post said eliminating or weakening pathogen prevention and food safety controls would “risk both public health and the market every cattle producer depends on.” > > Rather, the association called the announcement “not a serious plan” to strengthen the supply chain but rather “a distraction from an import policy the cattle industry overwhelmingly rejected.” > > South Dakota Cattlemen’s called on the Trump Administration to withdraw the foreign beef import plan and preserve uniform inspection standards [Jackson Dircks, “ Recent Trump Announcement Opposed by SD Cattle Group Could Affect State Trigger Law,” SDPB, 2026.09.01].
Trump’s actions are already worsening the safety of our food supply. It’s time to stop letting an unaccountable billionaire idiot wreak havoc on farm and food policy and move any changes in how we inspect, import, and incentivize the production of meat and other food through the regular political process in Congress.
## One Comment
1. Porter Lansing
CO-OP processing plants, inspected by Feds, are the answer to Brazilian and Chinese plants like JBS and Smithfield sending the profits overseas.
*It’s been a profitable and stable model for cheese for a century or more. Cabot in Vermont, Tillamook in the NW, Foremost Farms in Wisconsin are farmer originated C0-0P’s gone nationwide.
2026-09-08