More Local Processing Is a Win for Texas Farmers, Ranchers, & Families

MCKINNEY, TX — Nate Sheets, Republican nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, welcomed new federal action aimed at giving farmers and ranchers greater freedom to process and sell their own food, saying Texas must rebuild local processing capacity and give producers more choices.

“From the beginning, this has been a key piece of my Texans Should Feed Texans vision,” Sheets said. “We raise some of the best cattle and grow some of the best food in the world. We ought to process more of it here, sell more of it here and keep more of those dollars in Texas.”

Just four companies — Cargill, Tyson Foods, JBS USA and National Beef — account for roughly 85 percent of U.S. meat processing. Two of those four are controlled by foreign companies, adding a national security concern to an already concentrated food supply.

“Texas’ population has nearly tripled over the last 50 years, while the number of livestock slaughter facilities has been cut by more than half,” Sheets said. “At the same time, too much of our food supply runs through too few hands, including multinational foreign companies. Texas ranchers need more choices, Texas businesses need more opportunity, and we need to rebuild the capacity to process Texas food right here at home.”

Sheets wants Texas to remove unnecessary barriers for small and mid-size processors, expand regional processing and cold-storage capacity, and make it easier for Texas producers to reach Texas markets. He also supports Texas-first procurement standards that put Texas farmers, ranchers and food businesses ahead of multinational ultra-processed food companies when taxpayer dollars are spent on food. Those priorities are central to his Texans Should Feed Texans vision.

“This is about competition and freedom,” Sheets said. “Let the rancher raise it. Let a Texas business process it. Let Texans buy it. Government should be opening doors for that to happen, not standing in the way.”

Sheets built Nature Nate’s from a single backyard beehive into America’s leading branded honey company, eventually reaching more than 16,000 retail stores. That experience taught him firsthand that producing a great agricultural product is only the beginning, producers also need processing, distribution and access to markets.

“I spent decades getting an agricultural product from the producer to the consumer,” Sheets said. “Texas can build a stronger food supply chain right here at home.”

“Grow it here. Process it here. Sell it here. Feed Texans with it. That’s how we create rural jobs, strengthen our ranchers and secure our food supply. Texans should feed Texans.”