25/11/2025
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐈𝐒 𝐁𝐔𝐙𝐙𝐈𝐍𝐆 — 𝐋𝐄𝐓’𝐒 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐏 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃
(November 7-12, 2025)
If your news feed has been lit up this past week… you’re not alone.
Between November 7th and 12th, Donald Trump came out swinging about the cattle business — calling out the 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀, hinting at tariffs, promising investigations, and claiming he’s ready to “fix the beef industry.”
Everyone’s got an opinion. But out here on the High Plains, we don’t run on opinions. We run on 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀, 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.
So let’s break down what was said — and what it REALLY means for American beef 👇🏽
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 — 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘃𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗪𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲
Trump publicly called out the Big Four — 𝙏𝙮𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙅𝘽𝙎, 𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙡𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝘽𝙚𝙚𝙛 — saying they’re monopolizing the industry and squeezing ranchers while prices skyrocket at the grocery store.
That part?
𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜.
Producers have been warning for YEARS that consolidation at the top is crushing:
• Small ranchers
• Independent feeders
• Family-owned operations
• Anyone who isn’t backed by corporate dollars
But here’s the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 question every rancher is asking:
💭 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨 — 𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠?
💭 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 — 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙅𝘽𝙎, 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙣-𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩?
💭 𝙊𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙚’𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙨?
𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨:
👉🏽 We’re not seeing policy shifts.
👉🏽 We’re seeing hardworking families leaving the cattle business 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳.
👉🏽 We’re seeing land prices, interest rates, and overhead suffocate new producers before they ever get a start.
👉🏽 And we’re watching packer profits hit record highs while ranchers struggle to break even.
This isn’t political.
This is 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.
𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗗.𝗖.
While the headlines focused on Trump, something even more important happened:
Multiple state representatives traveled to Washington, D.C. this month to speak DIRECTLY on behalf of cattle producers. They raised concerns about:
• Lack of market transparency
• Foreign-owned packers influencing supply
• Anti-competitive pricing
• The decline of independent American beef production
• And the survival of rural communities tied to cattle
Whether you love Trump, hate him, or sit somewhere in between, one truth remains:
𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗽.
𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.
We’re watching closely to see who follows through.
𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣…
Most consumers have NO idea how extreme the chokehold on the beef supply really is.
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆:
• Four companies control more than 80% of U.S. beef processing.
• When cattle prices go down, the packers win.
• When beef prices go up, the packers win again.
• Ranchers — the people raising the beef — often lose no matter what.
That’s why ranch-to-table operations matter. That’s why buying beef from local producers matters. That’s why transparency in the industry matters.
Because the American food system should NEVER be dependent on four corporations — two of which are foreign-owned.
💬 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙮𝙖𝙡𝙡…
This isn’t just my conversation — it’s ours.
What do 𝙔𝙊𝙐 think?
💭 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙥 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥 𝙪𝙥 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮?
💭 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙞𝙜 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣?
💭 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬?
Be bold. Be honest. Be respectful.
The future of the American beef industry depends on conversations like this.
— 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐌 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐨.
𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦.
———
𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨
* American Action Forum. (2025, November 12). Unpacking Trump’s meat-packing allegations.
* Associated Press. (2025, November 7). Trump accuses foreign-owned meat packers of inflating U.S. beef prices and calls for investigation.
* Miller, C. J. (2025, November 11). Trump calls for investigation into four major meat packing companies. Hoosier Ag Today.
* Politico. (2025, November 7). Trump directs DOJ to investigate meatpackers amid beef price pressure.
* Potter, B. (2025, November 10). DOJ to investigate meat packers for price fixing. Feedstuffs.
* Reuters. (2025, November. U.S. Justice Department probes meatpackers, attorney general says.
* The White House. (2025, November 7). Trump administration cracks down on foreign-owned meat-packing cartels [Press release].
