DOJ Confirms Antitrust Probe Into Beef Processors

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a press conference Monday confirmed that the Justice Department is engaged in an antitrust investigation into beef processors and the broader meatpacking sector. He also said the DOJ is nearing a settlement in its case against data company Agri Stats, with an announcement expected later this week.

Progressive Farmer’s Todd Neeley reported that “in September 2023, the DOJ filed a civil lawsuit against a data company for the meat industry, Agri Stats. That lawsuit alleged meat companies used information from Agri Stats reports to increase prices and reduce meat supplies,” Neeley reported. “The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, alleged the companies used the reports to push up exports to reduce U.S. domestic supplies and drive up costs for U.S. food companies, retailers and consumers. A bench trial currently is set to begin on May 18, 2026, according to court documents.”

“U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the settlement expected to be announced later this week would ‘directly affect’ the prices of chicken, pork and turkey,” Neeley reported.

‘Basically, what the companies in this concentrated industry were doing was individually sending in data on everything — consumers, production, everything in between,’ Blanche said about the Agri Stats case,” according to Neeley’s reporting. “‘And what did that computer do? It spit back what the monopoly price should be. Justice department said, ‘No more, no mas.'”

DOJ Investigation Into Meatpacking Sector Continues

Meatingplace’s Chris Moore reported that “the (settlement) announcement came as federal officials also highlighted an ongoing antitrust investigation into the broader meatpacking sector. Blanche said prosecutors have reviewed more than 3 million documents and conducted interviews as part of the probe, which is examining whether market concentration has driven higher beef prices.”

“The four largest beef processors (Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS USA and National Beef Packing) control about 85% of the U.S. fed cattle market, according to officials,” Moore reported. “The companies have faced private lawsuits alleging price-fixing through supply restrictions, though they have denied the claims. Some firms have agreed to settlements without admitting liability.”

“Blanche said the DOJ would use ‘every law enforcement tool available’ and encouraged whistleblowers across the supply chain to come forward, noting potential financial rewards tied to successful enforcement actions,” Moore reported.

Agri-Pulse’s Noah Wicks reported that “when asked by a reporter about how close DOJ was to a lawsuit, Blanche said he was not in a position to say. ‘If I had an answer, I would share it with you,’ Blanche said. ‘But, just to understand, there’s a lot of work that’s been done and there’s a lot of work to do and we are moving as quickly as we can.'”

Today, just four companies — JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef — control roughly 85% of the cattle processing market. That level of concentration has surged from just 25% in 1977 to 71% by 1992, and now to an astonishing 85%.

Together, these companies operate through… pic.twitter.com/s4naYFcjt7

— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) May 4, 2026

“This is not the first investigation DOJ has launched into major beef processors in recent years,” Wicks reported. “During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the agency began investigating Cargill, JBS, National Beef and Tyson Foods for potential price fixing, according to a confidentiality agreement signed by agency officials that was obtained by Agri-Pulse. However, a Bloomberg report suggests this probe was closed last year.”

Meatpackers Currently Losing Money on Beef

Bloomberg’s Leah Nylen and Ilena Peng reported that “the severity of the current cattle shortage has sent prices so high that meatpackers are losing money on every animal they process, according to data from HedgersEdge. Cattle futures in Chicago reached a record high last week, and US beef imports have risen to meet domestic demand.”

“Julie Anna Potts, the head of industry group Meat Institute, said beef packers have been losing money as they ‘continue to pay feeders and cattle producers record breaking prices because there are not enough cattle to meet strong consumer demand for beef,'” Nylen and Peng reported. “The group said it had no comment on the Department of Justice’s investigation.”

Reuters’ Tom Polansek and Neil J Kanatt reported that, in the first quarter of 2026, “Tyson’s beef ​business continued to lose money because soaring costs for cattle have outpaced gains from higher ⁠selling prices for steaks and hamburger meat. …Tyson said it expects an adjusted operating loss of $350 million to $500 million in its beef business in fiscal ‌2026, compared ⁠with an earlier forecast loss of $250 million to $500 million.”