Last week, bipartisan legislation was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate to address anticompetitive markets and vertical consolidation in the meatpacking industry.
The “Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2025” would create the “Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters” within the Packers & Stockyards Division at USDA. The Office of the Special Investigator would hold legal powers to address violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act taken by large meatpackers.
“Producers have gone too long without fair options when it comes to processors and meatpackers,” according to U.S. Cattlemen’s Association President Justin Tupper. “The industry is much more consolidated than is equitable, with the four largest beef packers controlling 85 percent of the space.”
The House released their version of the bill on March 20th.
(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters)