Lawmakers Urge DOJ to Continue Cattle Industry Investigation

Earlier this week, lawmakers from South Dakota led an effort urging the Department of Justice to continue its investigation into the nation’s four biggest meatpackers. Republican Senator John Thune and Republican Representative Dusty Johnson also requested that DOJ provide Congress with updates. The letter comes as last week a group of six livestock and farm groups held a rare meeting unifying the diverse backgrounds of the organizations focusing on cattle market transparency.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association welcomed the letter.

NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane said, “We have a high supply of cattle at one end of this equation and a high demand for U.S. beef at the other, but the middle is being absolutely choked by the lack of processing capacity.”

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