Ground Beef Supervisor

Antitrust enforcement lags, as foreign control of meat sector grows. What happened to the Trump Administration's promised investigation? July 27, 2026 In May, an announcement by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins of a criminal antitrust investigation into the "Big Four" meatpackers (JBS, Tyson, Cargill, and National Beef) over potential collusion and beef price inflation aroused hope among cattle producers. Unfortunately, there has been no apparent movement in the investigation, and cattle markets continue to be highly volatile and completely disconnected from consumer prices. Since the announcement in May, the futures markets have plummeted, risen, and crashed again, costing producers hundreds of millions in value. The cash market for live cattle in South Dakota dropped over $380 per head from high to low. The commodity futures markets were promoted as a tool to manage risk. For decades these markets have instead been a tool to manipulate commodity prices to the benefit of large corporate buyers. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, held captive by corporate interests, has failed to police market-distorting trading. In addition to the CFTC, antitrust cops at the USDA, Justice Department, and FTC are asleep at the wheel, as record volumes of unlabeled, non-inspected, below-cost-of-production imports meet the growing demand for beef, a far cry from the competitive marketplace of the 1970s during which producers received over 80% of the consumer beef dollar. Today, powerful unregulated middlemen have cooperated in lowering prices to livestock producers while gouging consumers. Anticompetitive practices have reduced producer share of the retail dollar to as low as 27% during the pandemic and other unpredictable "black swan" events. An unfair and unsustainable share of the meat dollar now goes to these powerful middlemen, including the big meatpackers, big food service, and the big retailers, in what has become a massive mining operation of rural America. Mike Callicrate has been here before. In 1921, Wyoming Senator John Kendrick convinced Congress to take action to protect livestock producers with this description of the intensifying market monopoly: "It has been brought to such a high degree of concentration that it is dominated by few men. The big packers, so-called, stand between hundreds of thousands of producers on one hand and millions of consumers on the other. They have their fingers on the pulse of both the producing and consuming markets and are in such a position of strategic advantage they have unrestrained power to manipulate both markets to their own advantage and to the disadvantage of over 99 percent of the people of the country. Such power is too great to repose in the hands of any men." Today's meatpacking/big food monopoly is far more powerful than the robber barons of Senator Kendrick's day. The Packers and Stockyards Act they adopted to protect farmers and ranchers by stopping unfair business practices and preventing monopolies has been gutted by financially compromised presidential administrations and the judges they appoint. New rules to clarify the original intent have been blocked by both Trump administrations. Now, following decades of forced U.S. herd liquidation, the big meatpackers are closing plants, further reducing its nation's ability to feed ourselves. Misguided trade policies are replacing beef from domestic sources with cheaper, lower quality imports, up nearly 10% over the past year. Despite the growing infestation of New World screw worm coming across the southern border, USDA recently announced reopening to Mexican cattle imports. This decision, with total disregard for its nation's herd health and the welfare of domestic producers, has precipitated another devastating market crash from which middlemen and insider traders will greatly profit. Independent stocker and feeder operations have never paid more for replacement cattle, which leaves them highly vulnerable to collapsing prices, potentially adding more losses to the 77,000 feeding operations already out of business. Large packer-aligned feeding operations already have a long history of receiving preferential treatment and pushing replacement cattle prices beyond the break-even point for independent non-vertically aligned stocker/feeders. Buying in a more competitive market than you're selling into is a fool's game. Where are the law enforcers after the many recent court settlements for price fixing and market manipulation? The attorneys get paid, the meatpackers pay a minor fee equivalent to the cost of doing business, and nothing changes for producers and consumers. No producer in their right mind would consider increasing their herd with the meat cartel's power to dictate prices now and in the future. That's why its domestic cattle numbers are at a 70-year low, with serious long-term consequences for consumers. Only strict law enforcement and renewed competition can correct this injustice. JBS, the biggest meatpacker in the world, was convicted of corruption in Brazil for bribing government officials and using stolen money to buy up U.S. slaughter capacity in all three meat categories, beef, pork and poultry. In spite of that, JBS still won approval to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, following a $5 million dollar donation to the president's inauguration fund. What further damage can this company do with access to America's capital markets? Hope of rebuilding its nation's cattle herd is a fantasy unless the market hears a clear message: market manipulators, including the big meatpackers, food service companies, and retailers, will be investigated, prosecuted, and, if warranted, broken up. Mike Callicrate don't need more speeches in Washington, Mike Callicrate need action! Mike Callicrate has allowed ourselves to become dependent on a Brazilian crime family and other monopolists for its food. With so many supply chain failures, gaps in food safety - both foreign and domestic - and military conflicts around the world, it should be obvious why the inability to feed ourselves is a serious national security problem. Independent Beef Association of North Dakota (I-BAND) PO Box 2 Sterling, ND 58572 www.i-band.org [email protected] Kerry Docktor 701-220-7941

Todd Blanche says DOJ will subpoena reporters who get classified information. by CHARLOTTE HAZARD | The National News Desk Tue, May 12, 2026 at 9:53 AM WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 04: Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, joined by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, speaks at a press conference at the Department of Justice on May 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. Justice Department and Agriculture officials announced the opening of an antitrust investigation into the meat packing industry, including the four major U.S. beef meatpackers, JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef, over allegations of price-fixing and collusion. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) Deeper Dive BETA Ask KOMO News anything Why will DOJ subpoena reporters with classified info? What is administration's stance on leak prosecutions? How many Kirkland businesses were searched? WASHINGTON (TNND) - Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday that reporters who receive classified information will be subpoenaed by the Department of Justice. "To the media asking about DOJ investigating the leaking of classified information: Prosecuting leakers who share our nation's secrets with reporters, in turn risking our national security and the lives of our soldiers, is a priority for this administration," he wrote in a post on X. His post on X comes one day after a report from the Wall Street Journal hinted that President Donald Trump was irritated about leaks regarding the war in Iran. "Any witness, whether a reporter or otherwise, who has information about these criminals should not be surprised if they receive a subpoena about the illegal leaking of classified material," his post concluded. The statement from Blanche also comes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called for another investigation into Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly. Loved ones mourn Alex Keen after multi-day Mount Pugh search ends in tragedy Over the weekend, Kelly discussed U.S. weapons stockpiles during an interview on CBS's Face the Nation. "Did he violate his oath again?" Hegseth wrote on X in response to the report about Kelly. "Now he's blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received." Kelly fired back at Hegseth following his remarks. "We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take 'years' to replenish some of these stockpiles," he wrote on X. "That's not classified, it's a quote from you. This war is coming at a serious cost and you and the president still haven't explained to the American people what the goal is." SPONSORED CONTENT MORE TO EXPLORE

Justice Department opens criminal investigation of beef companies. | Published on: Apr 21, 2026 by Ryan Hanrahan, University of Illinois' FarmDoc project Urbana, IL - Bloomberg's Josh Sisco and Leah Nylen reported that "the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation in recent months into how prices are set in cattle auctions, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The DOJ lawyers investigating National Beef Inc., Cargill Inc., Tyson Foods Inc. and JBS NV are looking to determine whether the companies reached illegal agreements over how they purchase cattle from ranchers, said some of the people, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter." "The beef investigation - which also involves a separate probe by a team of civil DOJ attorneys - comes after President Donald Trump demanded an inquiry in November amid record prices," Sisco and Nylen reported. "Ranchers have long complained about anticompetitive conduct by the four companies, which control about 85% of the US market, according to the Agriculture Department." "The criminal aspect of the probe raises the stakes considerably for the companies and their executives, who face the prospect of steep fines and prison time," Sisco and Nylen reported. "Neither the companies or their employees have been accused of any wrongdoing and probes don't always lead to charges or lawsuits being filed. A previous investigation into alleged price-fixing during the Covid-19 pandemic closed without action." The Wall Street Journal's Dave Michaels and Patrick Thomas reported that "a Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment. A JBS spokeswoman said the company isn't aware of any criminal investigation involving JBS and that it operates in a highly regulated industry, and is committed to complying with all applicable regulations. Tyson, Cargill and National Beef didn't comment." "The probe follows a number of Trump administration initiatives aimed at tackling soaring beef prices that have had little effect so far," Michaels and Thomas reported. "... A nationwide cattle shortage and continued strong demand have been driving up beef prices, according to industry officials and analysts. Meatpackers have been waiting for years for ranchers to rebuild the depleted U.S. cattle supply, which is at its lowest level since 1951. Beef prices for consumers and wholesalers are at record highs as a result, and are expected to stay high for at least the next few years."