Inflation is being ground down from Biden-era levels, but grocery bills are still a matter of very real concern for a lot of Americans - and for a lot of American farmers and ranchers. On Friday, President Trump took to his Truth Social account to describe the four companies that he claims dominate meat processing, and how he plans moves to, it appears, decentralize that process by allowing farmers and ranchers to process their own stock.

The president writes:

Ranchers and Farmers have always been a number one priority for me. They work very hard, are smart, efficient, and immaculately CLEAN, but for years I have heard that they have had a tremendous problem with the Big Processors, who many say are a nasty Monopoly. There are, essentially, 4 of them, a very non competitive number, and they make life miserable for our wonderful Farmers and Ranchers, and I can’t let that happen, can I? So, in order to break this powerful monopoly, with much of its ownership based outside of the U.S., I am authorizing legal documents to be drawn in order to allow Farmers and Ranchers to be given the right to PROCESS THEIR OWN FOOD. This should move quickly. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

There's one thing that's not completely clear. Mind you, no orders or actions have yet been drafted that we know of. But here's the thing: President Trump writes that his documents, in whatever form they take, will "allow farmers and ranchers to be given the right to process their own food." It's not clear what is meant by that. Does he mean to process their own stock for personal consumption? Because that is what that sentence appears to say. Does he mean to process their own stock for sale? That would be a much bigger deal; that would decentralize the process and take at least some of the processing out of the hands of, as the president puts it, the nasty monopoly of big processors.

Time was, such processing was generally done closer to the source. Every small town in farm country had a local meat locker, normally family-owned, that served the community. Farmers' stock was processed and sold locally. This still happens in many places. We buy our pork and beef from just such a locker in eastern Iowa when we are visiting family, which is why a shipping cooler is always among our luggage; we take Alaska salmon and halibut down, bring Iowa pork and beef back, and you won't find pork and beef of that quality in most grocery stores.

Allowing farmers and ranchers to process their own animals for sale would effectively decentralize this process. Cost may be marginally higher without the economies of scale, but on that note, we already have plenty to complain about. 

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This won't help one very real problem, though, and that is the condition of the American beef herds. The American beef cattle herd is at the lowest point it has been since 1961, according to some reports. There are hopeful signs on the horizon, including an increase in beef heifers retained for replacement; that is, to make more beef cattle, to grow the herds. But this doesn't happen overnight. It takes years to significantly increase the beef herd, and in the meantime, supply and demand still apply.

We will await the exact text of President Trump's action in this with great interest. In the meantime, let's just say there is some reason to be bullish on beef.