Vice President JD Vance spent Monday handing out federal money and campaign support in roughly equal measure, announcing millions of dollars in grants for meatpacking facilities while stumping in Kansas for Republican Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).
Vance said the grants would support 10 meatpacking facilities across Kansas, and he made sure the home-state senator got his due. The funding "could not have happened without Doc Marshall," he said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a release that the broader $57 million investment will support processing expansion across 40 states through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program. The initiative is designed to help ranchers expand capacity, strengthen local processing and create "new and better markets through the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program."
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the grants advance President Donald Trump's executive order. She added that the administration is focused on rebuilding the U.S. cattle herd, and that expanding local processing opportunities would boost ranchers' confidence and support that goal.
Trump Expands Farm Aid Ahead of Midterms
The meatpacking grants come as the Trump administration is directing federal support toward farmers facing elevated operating costs ahead of the November Midterm elections.
Last week, the administration announced an $8 billion diesel-relief program for American farmers covering the 2026 crop year. Marshall praised the plan and said assistance would be distributed through the USDA's Harvest Fuel Relief Program.
Vance also announced a $1.3 billion investment in domestic fertilizer manufacturing, including funding for TalusAg, which plans to open two facilities in Nebraska. He said the investment would help 32,000 farmers across more than 4 million acres access lower-cost, American-made fertilizer amid elevated costs linked to the Iran war.
USDA Aid and DOJ Probe Target Beef Industry
In July, the USDA announced the allocation of up to $500 million to help small and midsize U.S. meatpackers cope with rising cattle costs amid historically low supplies and the reemergence of New World screwworm. The program would support eligible, U.S.-owned beef processors that are federally or cooperatively inspected and are not owned by or considered among the nation's largest meatpacking firms.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department launched a criminal antitrust investigation into major U.S. meatpackers over possible price fixing, collusion and manipulation of cattle-pricing benchmarks. The probe followed Trump's allegations of market manipulation, with the administration saying that the "Big Four" meatpackers — JBS NV (JBS NV (JBS)), Cargill, Tyson Foods (Tyson Foods (TSN)), and National Beef control about 85% of U.S. beef processing.
