US farm agency moves to support beef industry

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Monday that the USDA is taking actions to support the beef industry, including loans for small meat processors and the use of conserved land for grazing.

President Donald Trump on Friday pledged action to allow ranchers to process their own cattle, aimed at breaking up a "nasty monopoly" among top meatpackers.

U.S. shoppers have faced record beef prices as drought and wildfires have driven the cattle herd to 75-year lows. Trump last week signed an order expanding lower-tariff beef imports in an effort to bring down prices, angering farm groups.

Among the USDA's efforts are a guaranteed loan program for smaller meat processing operations and allowing ranchers to use some conserved lands after natural disasters and wildfires, according to an agency press release.

"We are investing real dollars to rebuild the Great American Beef Herd, giving producers the risk management tools they need, cutting the red tape that has squeezed small and independent operators, and demanding transparency in a marketplace that has been consolidated and foreign-owned for far too long," said Rollins in the release.