Article Summary

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revamped the “Product of the USA” label for meat, poultry, and egg products in an effort to bolster consumer awareness and U.S. markets.
• U.S. cattle herds hit a 75-year low in 2026, raising beef prices for consumers and increasing pressure on smaller, domestic cattle ranchers, who must compete with giant conglomerates.
• Advocates say the campaign could help smaller producers, but the labeling is voluntary, so some are pushing for mandatory labeling requirements for beef.

On March 24, National Agriculture Day, the first floor of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) building was full of people from the agriculture sector. There, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins unveiled a promotional video featuring fast cuts between herself, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., bull riders, and barrel racers.

“Born here, raised here, processed here,” the rodeo stars state matter of factly, explaining a revised label plan for some U.S. products.

The heavily produced video was intended to raise awareness for the revamped “Product of the USA” label for meat, poultry, and egg products. That label, finalized under the Biden administration in 2024, closed a loophole that could boost competitiveness for smaller meatpackers and ranchers and was celebrated for providing more transparency to consumers.

The calls to close the loophole largely come from smaller ranchers who struggle to compete with cheaper beef from large, consolidated meatpackers. But the initiative is also facing criticism that it does not go far enough, along with a push for the return of mandatory labeling.

‘Product of the USA’ Origins

The Biden-era rule went into effect Jan. 1, 2026. The rule mandates that “Product of the USA” or “Made in the USA” labels can only apply to meat, poultry, and egg products that are raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States.

Previously, the label could be used on beef raised and slaughtered in a foreign country, as long as it was packaged or minimally processed domestically.

Rollins told reporters that the Biden administration never put any marketing behind the policy. She is now in talks with “big food companies” to push them to buy beef from American ranchers, she said. “The goal is to be able at the end of the day to wholly subsist and to rely on American ranchers, American born, raised, harvested, processed beef.”

U.S. cattle herds hit a 75-year low in 2026, according to USDA reports, contributing to high beef prices for consumers and increased pressure on domestic cattle ranchers.

As the industry works to improve domestic herds and markets, Rollins said, consumers should know where their food is coming from.

The labeling, which is currently voluntary under the USDA rule, is most likely to benefit smaller meatpackers that are local or regional, said Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF, a group that supports independent cattle producers.

Four of the largest meatpackers control over 80 percent of the U.S. market, but they largely import their beef, he said. The labeling allows the smaller packers that represent the remaining 20 percent to differentiate themselves.

These packers hope the new label will correct consumer misconceptions about food origins. For example, Bullard said, consumers erroneously think that beef with a USDA inspection sticker is also produced domestically. That label simply notes that the product was deemed safe by USDA inspectors, but does not mean anything about where it was produced.

“The more the ‘Product of the USA’ label is used in the marketplace, consumers will be better informed and will better understand that there’s a difference between an origin label and a food safety inspection label,” Bullard said.

The label could have an outsized effect on the domestic organic beef market as well, said Alicia LaPorte, communications director at Niman Ranch, a network of farms focused on humane and sustainable practices.

About 95 percent of organic beef is imported, but consumers may be unaware of that, she said, and organic shoppers tend to have more room in their budget to pay for more expensive domestic products.

Consumer research from grocery and meat industry groups also demonstrates that organic shoppers prefer domestic products.

“It could make a meaningful difference for domestic ranchers having that [labeling] more upfront, because I do think it could really shift what shoppers choose to buy,” LaPorte said.

Calls for Mandatory Label

But local industry advocates are pushing for the federal government to go further, by making labeling mandatory. Starting in 2013, the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law was mandated for certain products, including meat, fruits, vegetables, and nuts sold domestically. But Congress repealed this requirement for beef products in 2015, due in part to pressure from large meatpackers, Bullard said.

The World Trade Organization has meanwhile ruled that U.S. labeling for beef and pork violated trade obligations by discriminating against cattle and hogs imported from Canada and Mexico. The rulings allowed Canada and Mexico to impose retaliatory tariffs against U.S. exports and prompted lawmakers to remove the requirement for these products.

R-CALF’s stance is that the WTO “overreached” in its ruling and that the COOL law applied to domestic and imported products the same.

“We are not concerned that mandatory country of origin labeling in any way violates our trade agreements or trade standards,” Bullard said. “The fact that virtually every product in America is subject to a mandatory country of origin label suggests to us that the ruling by the WTO was purely political.”

Bullard said R-CALF is encouraging Congress to revive the COOL law for beef products in the upcoming farm bill.

During a recent announcement about domestic beef, Rollins said she is a “big supporter” of COOL, which she said promotes transparency, but action on COOL is ultimately in the hands of Congress.

“For me, it’s black and white,” she said. “Everyone in America should know where their food is coming from.”

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