09/03/2026
Washington Says “Ranchers First.” Now Prove It.
The biggest takeaway from Rollins’ new Ranchers First Initiative is that Washington is finally acknowledging several things cattlemen have been screaming about for years: we have a dangerously small cow herd, processing is too concentrated, ranchers need more leverage in the marketplace, and rebuilding this industry takes more than simply telling producers to raise more cattle.
There are a few pieces I actually like. The heifer-retention program could be a big one. USDA is developing a new insurance option called BRAND that would work through Livestock Risk Protection. The idea is to protect some of the economic value a producer gives up when they keep a good heifer instead of selling her into an extremely strong market.
Think about our situation. When a replacement-quality female is worth serious money today, keeping her isn't free. You're turning down today's check, feeding her, breeding her, carrying her through gestation and assuming all the risk before she ever puts a calf on the ground. If USDA can legitimately reduce some of that financial risk, that could encourage producers to keep the females we need to rebuild this cow herd.
Then there's processing. This is where I think we need to separate the good idea from the political sound bite. The goal isn't that every rancher suddenly becomes a butcher. We don't need 600,000 cattle producers trying to build processing plants. HA HA! What we need is more places bidding on our cattle.
If USDA can help independent processors expand, help producer cooperatives get into processing, keep regional plants operating and potentially put some major processing capacity into American or producer ownership, THAT could matter. Because ultimately I don't care how many speeches Washington gives about helping cattlemen.
Give me another bidder standing ringside wanting my cattle. Competition is what gives the producer leverage. That's why I'm watching this Tyson situation closely too. If some of that processing capacity actually ends up under independent American or producer ownership, that could be significant. But until there's a sale and somebody is actually operating those plants, I'm treating that as a possibility—not a victory.
The part I still have a serious problem with is the contradiction between rebuilding the American cow herd and increasing foreign beef imports. You cannot keep telling cattlemen: "America needs more cattle. Retain your heifers. Expand your herd. Invest in production." Then when cattle prices finally get strong enough to encourage us to do exactly that, panic because hamburger is expensive and reach for imported beef as a short-term answer.
That's backwards!
A cow-calf producer doesn't respond to government policy in 90 days. We make decisions that play out over years. Keep a heifer today. Breed her. Wait nine months. Calve her. Raise that calf. Breed her back. Raise another calf. That's how you rebuild a cow herd. There is no switch somewhere at USDA that creates another million cows next spring. And that's really where I land on Rollins' announcement: There are some genuinely producer-friendly ideas in it.
Heifer-retention protection? I'm listening.
More independent processors? Absolutely.
Producer-owned processing? Even better.
More demand for American-raised beef? Yes.
More transparency and competition? We've needed it for decades.
But cattlemen should also be careful about celebrating an announcement before we see how these programs actually work, who qualifies, how much red tape comes with them and whether they ultimately put more money—or more market power—in the producer's hands. Because at the end of the day, that's my measuring stick: Does it make the American cattle producer stronger? Not the packer! Not the importer! Not the retailer! Not Washington!
The man or woman who owns the cows, pays the feed bill, buys the diesel, fixes the fence, takes the drought risk, loses sleep during calving season and actually produces the beef.
If Ranchers First accomplishes that, I'll be the first one to say it's a win.
But they've still got to prove it!
