LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – President Trump signed an executive order on Sept. 4 to “support American producers’ ability to butcher, process, package and sell their meat to consumers across state lines.”
Lubbock Farm Bureau’s Walt Hagood said several factors led up to the order, starting with rising energy and diesel fuel prices.
“We’ve had high inflation for some time now. And with energy prices going up, everything is driven by diesel fuel. Diesel fuel, those trucks and trains that deliver supplies all over the world, that affects each of us in our pocketbooks at home. And so that’s why groceries are affected so much, too,” Hagood said.
Drought and rising costs
Hagood said drought has also driven up costs for producers.
“And so they’ve enjoyed a couple of years here with high prices as long as they were able to grow the grass, you know, and have hay to feed and stuff like that. But their input cost continually goes up because of the drought,” Hagood said.
Screw worm and border closure
Hagood said the screw worm epidemic also played a role after the Mexican border closed, halting cattle transportation.
“You know, because the screw worms is ultimately what shut the border down, and when he shut the border down, you know, there was a real threat with the screw worms,” Hagood said.
Hagood said these combined factors have driven up beef prices and shrunk the nation’s cattle supply. He said he hasn’t seen a herd this small since the 1970s.
“You know, you take a baby, baby calf that’s going to be a replacement heifer, you’re two and a half years away before that’s, that’s, go through that cycle and have another calf. And so it takes a long time to do that. And it’s very expensive because, you know, you’re having to feed that animal for a couple of years before you have an animal to sell,” Hagood said.
Regulations on selling meat
Hagood said producers have been selling their own meat for some time, but regulations have limited what they can do when it comes to selling across state lines.
“In any killing facility, there’s an inspector there. But, you know, there’s special rules, and that’s one of them. That meat is not for sale back to me. I can’t go sell it. But if you have a federal inspector and a state inspector, which some of them do, you can sell across state lines with the federal inspector. You can sell inside the state to your local farmer market if it’s been inspected,” Hagood said.
Hagood said the new executive order won’t change prices overnight, but it could open the door for local producers to grow their business, giving shoppers more options at the meat counter.
Copyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.