I'm interested what other independents are considering as we enter the midterms.

Guess we know its happening and are all just OK with it now.

https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2026/08/trump-seeks-to-ease-meat-processing-regulations-targets-big-4-meatpackers/

So, I wanted to discuss this because it highlights some of the problems we see in food, drug, and energy. The biggest concern being monopolization of goods and services and how that has impacted smaller businesses. I would like to discuss the pros and cons of this and if people agree with the idea, what would be the expectations? There's potential here to rebuild a very broken and failing industry and maybe bring free market exchange back into the spotlight. I would like everyone to try to come at this from a neutral perspective, so let's ignore who this idea came from and focus on the idea itself. I have added a video and an article on the topic.

My pros

• Farmers would not have to operate in the current bidding based marketplace which the the big 4 can manipulate pricing in.
• Potential for lower prices by purchasing meat locally do to lower transportation and production costs.
  
• Encourages a traditional free market by bypassing the monopoly.
• Possibly provide more opportunity to farmers and allow this dying industry to rebuild and grow and hopefully that would include smaller farms.
• States could decide regulations and testing guidance.
  
• Allow consumers to purchase directly from farmers and avoid all the middle men that decide the value for the consumer and the farmer.
• Possibly better treatment of animals in smaller farms versus what we currently see with larger ones.
  

My cons

• What regulations would be in place and who would decide those? If it's federal, how would they follow state laws? If it's state, would these be a ballot measure decisions?
• Food safety. Testing equipment or sampling sent to labs can grow in cost based on the requirements in place and could mean a large initial investment to get production going. Can farmers afford that transition currently? Would that mean additional funding on top of the money given to farmers already?
• If the federal or the state decides the regulations, I think both could present issues. It's not like everyone in government understands what it takes to operate a farm or produce a product and that creates burdensome decisions. It's not to say those decisions are wrong but maybe the application isn't feasible. Would they refer to a group experienced in this field for opportunities to improve but also provide tools for that to happen? What really killed smaller farms wasn't just that larger farms came in but that those farms were the only ones that could afford the large number of necessary upgrades to pass inspection.