November 2025 saw the American animal agriculture industry thrust into the spotlight, as a string of high-stakes developments unfolded across trade, regulation, and the heart of the nation’s food supply chain. At center stage: President Donald Trump’s dramatic directive for a federal investigation into the country’s four largest meatpacking companies, a move that has reignited debate about monopoly power, food prices, and the future of American ranching.
On November 7, President Trump called on the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into potential collusion and price fixing among JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef. According to the White House, these companies—collectively known as the “Big Four”—now control approximately 85% of the U.S. beef processing market, a figure that has soared from just 36% in 1980. The administration’s statement was blunt: “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.”
The Department of Justice probe, led by Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, aims to determine whether these meatpacking giants have violated antitrust laws. Industry consolidation, critics argue, has left cattle producers with few options and consumers facing higher prices at the grocery store. As the White House put it, these companies “have squeezed America’s cattle producers, shrunk herds and jacked up prices at the grocery store.”
The facts bear out some of these concerns. According to Investigate Midwest, the Big Four’s dominance has indeed skyrocketed since the 1970s, when the top four firms controlled just 25% of the market. By 1992, that figure had leapt to 71%, and today it sits at a staggering 85%. Just 12 federally inspected plants now produce nearly half of all U.S. beef, leaving many ranchers with only one major buyer in their region.
Yet the story is more nuanced than it first appears. A 2024 report from the USDA, cited by Investigate Midwest, found that industry consolidation has led to lower production costs, which in turn have sometimes translated to lower prices for consumers and higher prices for cattle and hogs. “Lower production costs did translate into lower consumer prices, increased consumption, and higher prices for cattle and hogs,” the report stated. However, it also acknowledged that with fewer rivals, packers have been able to exercise market power and pay lower prices to cattle producers than they might have in a more competitive environment.
Despite these efficiencies, beef prices for consumers have risen in recent years, and the gap between what packers pay for cattle and what shoppers pay at the store has widened. Many analysts, including those cited by Investigate Midwest, point out that this squeeze isn’t solely the result of consolidation. Labor shortages, higher transportation costs, supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19, inflation, and even price-gouging have all played a role. The beef industry’s woes have been compounded by climate-change-fueled droughts, which have disrupted feed supplies and forced reductions in herd sizes, pushing cattle inventories to historic lows.
Disruptions at key meatpacking plants have also shown just how fragile the nation’s food supply chain can be. A cyberattack on JBS in May 2021 caused widespread delays in production, while a 2019 fire at a Tyson Foods plant in Kansas led to a 27% drop in cattle traded on the market in the week that followed. These incidents, as highlighted by Investigate Midwest, underscore the risks inherent in such a highly concentrated industry.
The DOJ’s investigation has found support among some industry groups. R-CALF USA, a cattle producers’ association, welcomed the probe, arguing that it could bring much-needed transparency and accountability to the beef sector. According to Dan Halstrom, president and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, restoring competition and access to export markets is critical for the industry’s health. “If the removal of non-tariff barriers means that China will promptly renew the U.S. beef plant and cold storage registrations that it has allowed to expire over the past nine months, this will restore access to a critical beef export market,” Halstrom said, referencing new trade agreements that also unfolded in November.
Indeed, trade was another area of dramatic movement during the month. On October 30, President Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping inked a deal that saw China suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods and commit to buying 12 million metric tons of soybeans in 2025, with a minimum of 25 million tons annually through 2028. The agreement included a reduction of tariffs on U.S. pork by 10% and a pledge to renew meat export facility registrations—crucial for American beef and pork producers who had seen their shipments to China plummet under previous tariffs.
November also brought news of a trade deal with Switzerland that eliminates agricultural tariffs and sets quotas for U.S. poultry, beef, and bison, as well as framework agreements with Argentina, Guatemala, Ecuador, and El Salvador aimed at reducing export barriers and protecting key product terms. In a related move, President Trump lifted reciprocal tariffs on a long list of agricultural products—including fruits, cocoa, coffee, tea, spices, and beef from Brazil—hoping to drive down food prices for American consumers. This came on the heels of a controversial decision the previous month to quadruple the import quota on Argentine beef, a move that rattled the domestic cattle industry.
All these changes came against the backdrop of a historic government shutdown that stretched into November. The impasse, which began after Congress failed to pass a funding bill by September 30, disrupted everything from SNAP benefits to air traffic control. After more than a dozen failed attempts, the Senate finally passed a funding bill on November 10, with the House following suit on November 12. The legislation restored funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, extended the Farm Bill, and ensured the U.S. Grain Standards Act would remain in force through January 30, 2026.
Regulatory shifts also made headlines. On November 17, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed final rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS), bringing it in line with a 2023 Supreme Court decision. The new definition limits federal jurisdiction to larger, permanent bodies of water and their tributaries, excluding temporary features like ditches and ponds. The agriculture industry, long critical of what it saw as government overreach, largely welcomed the changes for adding clarity and predictability to permitting requirements.
Amid these sweeping policy changes, a troubling episode at the University of Michigan added to the month’s drama. Three Chinese students were charged with conspiring to smuggle biological materials into the U.S., a case the Justice Department said posed a threat to national and agricultural security. "Allegedly attempting to smuggle biological materials under the guise of ‘research’ is a serious crime that threatens America’s national and agricultural security," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. described the incident as part of "a long and alarming pattern of criminal activities committed by Chinese nationals under the cover of the University of Michigan."
As November drew to a close, the animal agriculture industry found itself at a crossroads—caught between the promise of new trade opportunities, the perils of industry concentration, and the ongoing challenge of balancing security, competition, and affordability for American consumers and producers alike.
