Beef lovers across America have felt the sting at the checkout counter for months, with prices for steaks and ground beef climbing to dizzying heights. Now, President Donald Trump is putting the heat on the nation’s largest meat packers, calling for a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into what he alleges is price-fixing and collusion by the so-called "Big Four"—JBS, Tyson Foods, Cargill, and Marfrig (also known as National Beef).
Announced on November 7, 2025, Trump’s executive order has drawn support from ranchers, farm bureaus, and lawmakers in beef-producing states, but it’s also triggered a fierce debate about what’s really driving up the cost of America’s favorite protein. According to KVII and Cowboy State Daily, Trump accused foreign-owned meat packers of artificially inflating prices, stating, "We will always protect our American Ranchers, and they are being blamed for what is being done by Majority Foreign Owned Meat Packers, who artificially inflate prices, and jeopardize the security of our Nation’s food supply." He urged the DOJ to act swiftly, declaring, "Action must be taken immediately to protect Consumers, combat Illegal Monopolies, and ensure these Corporations are not criminally profiting at the expense of the American People."
At the heart of the controversy is the enormous influence of the Big Four, who, according to Trump, now control 85% of the U.S. beef processing market—a staggering jump from 36% in 1980. These companies aren’t just beef powerhouses; they handle between 55% and 85% of all chicken, beef, and pork sold in America. Their business model? Buy livestock, fatten them up, slaughter and process the meat, then sell it to retailers who, in turn, sell it to the public.
The Texas Farm Bureau has voiced strong support for the investigation, with President Russell Boening noting, "Consolidation in the beef industry is a serious concern for Texas beef producers." Boening pointed out that while beef producers have suffered from falling prices for their cattle, "the price consumers paid for beef did not decrease at the supermarket." This disconnect has fueled suspicions among ranchers and lawmakers that the large packers may be manipulating the market.
Wyoming ranchers and state legislators have also cheered Trump’s move, but they’re quick to argue that the problem runs deeper than just the Big Four. State Sen. Ogden Driskill told Cowboy State Daily, "It’s been a huge issue for decades. But it actually should go much deeper than the four packers. It needs to go into the Packers and Stockyards Act, which was set up to stop this very thing." Crook County cattle rancher Tyler Lindholm echoed the sentiment, saying, "We’ve been saying that for decades in the state of Wyoming and in western cattle-producing states, but to see somebody from the East recognize that is good."
Yet, even critics of the meat packers warn that simply breaking up the companies or forcing foreign owners to divest could backfire. As Cheyenne cattle rancher and former National Cattlemen’s Beef Association president Mark Eisele put it, "If they end up doing this investigation and it comes out where they make them divest themselves, those multinationals from those packers, you might end up with only two or three packers. And then you really start having the ability to control prices."
So what’s really behind the high prices at the grocery store? The answer, it turns out, is a tangled web of supply and demand, weather, disease, and policy. Beef prices have soared to record levels in recent months, partly because drought and years of low prices have shrunk the U.S. cattle herd to its smallest size in decades. According to Mark Eisele, "Drought, for one, has resulted in a big sell-off of the American cattle herd, putting their numbers at historic lows."
Adding to the squeeze is a screwworm outbreak that has closed the U.S. border to Mexican cattle, which normally provide a cheaper source of beef. Screwworms, a flesh-eating parasite, have been detected and contained in 11 Mexican states bordering the U.S., but the USDA isn’t ready to reopen the border yet. As USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins explained, "The United States is not yet comfortable re-opening that border, though she feels things are moving closer to that endgame."
At the retail level, the impact is clear. On November 10, 2025, a single pound of four small sirloin steaks cost $14.94 at Walmart in Cheyenne, Wyoming, while two New York strip steaks weighing a pound went for $16.97. And while consumers are paying more, ranchers say they’re not seeing those profits. The Meat Institute, which represents the major packers, claims the industry is actually suffering. "For more than a year, beef packers have been operating at a loss due to a tight cattle supply and strong demand," said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. "The beef industry is heavily regulated, and market transactions are transparent. The government’s own data from USDA confirms that the beef packing sector is experiencing catastrophic losses and experts predict this will continue into 2026."
Experts, however, caution against expecting too much from the DOJ probe. Glynn Tonsor, who leads the Meat Demand Monitor at Kansas State University, said the ownership mix in the industry hasn’t changed much in recent years, and there’s no clear evidence that big packers are wielding undue market power. Derrell Peel, an agricultural economist at Oklahoma State University, added, "The packing industry in this country has been investigated and researched for 50 years, and it’s been an issue for over a hundred years, at least, for some producers." Peel warned, "If the outcome is to break up the big packers, the outcome will be higher beef prices for consumers, and lower cattle prices for producers."
Some see a solution in loosening federal regulations. Wyoming ranchers advocate for allowing state-inspected meat to be sold across state lines, arguing that state inspections meet the same standards as federal ones. "All sorts of economists have written about this, and they all come to the same conclusion that a truly free market will handle itself," said Lindholm. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has even introduced a bill in Congress to permit interstate sale of state-inspected beef, a move many believe would boost competition and lower prices.
The current system, critics say, is a legacy of the Wholesome Meat Act of 1968, which cemented the federal inspection process and, with it, the dominance of a handful of large companies. "When they did this in 1968, with the Wholesome Meat Act, they created, through the lobbying of the meat-packing facilities, a centralized entity which you have to go through. They created this monopoly in 1968, and the federal government has yet to fix it since," Lindholm explained.
Meanwhile, the industry faces another challenge: new packing plants are opening, but there aren’t enough cattle to keep them running at full capacity. Eisele noted, "A lot of new packing plants are being opened, which has helped ease the demand, or at least the ability to make supply for the demand. But the trouble is, right now we don’t have enough cattle for all those small packing plants, so I’m really concerned about their futures. And a lot of the big plants are running at three-quarter, sometimes 60% capacity because they don’t have enough cattle."
As the DOJ gears up for its investigation, it’s clear that the beef industry’s problems are as complex as ever. Whether the probe leads to lower prices, increased competition, or simply more debate remains to be seen. For now, both ranchers and consumers are left waiting—watching the price tags and hoping for relief.
