WASHINGTON D.C (VINnews) — President Trump announced Friday that his administration will prepare legal documents allowing farmers and ranchers to slaughter and process their own livestock, a step aimed at loosening the grip of the large companies that dominate U.S. meatpacking.

Trump said on Truth Social that producers should have the right to process their own food and that the work should move quickly. The comments followed an interview in which he described the current system as a monopoly controlled by four major packers.

Those four firms handle about 85% of U.S. beef packing. Ranchers have long complained that the concentration leaves them with fewer buyers and weaker prices even as grocery costs remain high. Cattle supplies are near 75-year lows after drought and other pressures, adding strain on both producers and consumers.

The White House set a Sept. 15, 2026, deadline for the first legal papers so the changes can take effect before the autumn cattle sales season and give smaller plants time to prepare.

The move is intended to give independent producers more control over their animals from farm to table.