For years, the American beef market has been dominated by a handful of massive corporations, their influence so extensive that four companies—Tyson, Cargill, JBS, and National Beef—now control about 80% of the nation’s beef supply. This concentration has long sparked concerns about price-fixing, anticompetitive practices, and the fate of both ranchers and consumers. The tension reached a boiling point this November when President Donald Trump ordered a new federal investigation into the country’s largest beef processors, just weeks after the Department of Justice (DOJ) quietly closed an earlier, years-long probe into the industry.
The story, as reported by Bloomberg and Common Dreams, is a tale of investigations begun, closed, and then called for anew—all while the industry’s biggest players report staggering losses and advocacy groups question whether political will, not legal authority, is what’s truly lacking.
Let’s rewind: The original DOJ antitrust investigation was launched in June 2020, during Trump’s first term, as the COVID-19 pandemic sent shockwaves through the food supply chain. At the time, beef prices were spiking, and suspicions swirled about whether meatpacking giants were colluding to keep prices artificially high. The probe continued quietly through the Biden administration, which also took executive action targeting price gouging in the sector. But neither Attorney General William Barr nor his successor Merrick Garland commented publicly on the investigation’s progress, leaving members of Congress and the public to speculate.
According to Bloomberg, the mystery was finally solved in November 2025. The DOJ had closed the five-year-old probe just weeks before President Trump’s latest announcement, without issuing any public statement about its closure. National Beef confirmed that the 2020 investigation had ended with no findings, and as of mid-November, the company said it had received no word from the DOJ about the new inquiry.
The timing raised eyebrows. President Trump’s order for a new investigation came on November 7, 2025—mere weeks after the previous probe was shuttered. Trump announced on his social media platform that he had instructed the DOJ to "immediately begin an investigation" into meatpacking companies, citing concerns about potential unlawful collusion to raise beef prices. The move, however, was met with skepticism by critics and advocacy groups.
Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit focused on corporate accountability in food systems, was blunt: "Farmers and consumers need real action to bring down prices and protect producers—not performative announcements," said Tarah Heinzen, the group’s legal director. She added, "If Trump is serious about investigating beef packers, his [US Department of Agriculture] must also vigorously defend the prior administration’s Packers and Stockyards Act rules." The group pointed out that Trump’s call for a probe came just three months after he had rescinded a Biden-era executive order specifically designed to tackle abuses by meatpackers.
Farm Action, a watchdog organization fighting corporate abuses in agriculture, echoed these concerns. "DOJ probes of the kind ordered by Trump often end quietly without any meaningful action," the group stated last week. "For this one to matter, it must end with enforcement. If investigators uncover anticompetitive behavior, the DOJ has powerful tools to act. Under the Sherman Antitrust Act, it can take the packers to court, break them up, prosecute executives, force changes that protect farmers, and prevent further consolidation." Their conclusion was pointed: "The law is clear, what’s been missing is the political will to use it."
Meanwhile, the financial picture for the beef giants has grown increasingly grim. Last week, Tyson, JBS, and National Beef all reported significant losses in their beef operations. Tyson’s beef losses tripled over the fiscal year, reaching a staggering $1.1 billion. JBS Beef North America saw its gross profit plummet from $341 million in the third quarter of 2024 to just $170 million in the same period of 2025. MBRF-owned National Beef reported a 10.2% drop in third-quarter gross profit, landing at $130 million. The reasons for these losses are complex—ranging from volatile cattle prices to shifting consumer demand—but they add another layer of urgency and uncertainty to the ongoing debate over industry practices.
The closure of the original DOJ probe was confirmed by National Beef, which stated that the company had been formally notified of the investigation’s end and that there were no findings of wrongdoing. Tyson and JBS, for their part, have not commented publicly on the DOJ’s latest move, but all three companies are no doubt watching closely as the new investigation takes shape.
Advocacy groups and some lawmakers argue that the real issue isn’t whether the government has the authority to act—it’s whether it will. The Sherman Antitrust Act, passed in 1890, remains a powerful legal tool for breaking up monopolies and prosecuting companies that engage in price-fixing or other anticompetitive behavior. Yet, as Farm Action and others have observed, previous DOJ investigations into the meatpacking industry have often ended without significant enforcement or structural change.
The Biden administration, during its tenure, attempted to address some of these concerns through executive orders and new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act, aimed at curbing abuses and increasing competition. But with Trump’s recent rescission of those measures and his call for a new probe, the regulatory landscape is once again in flux.
For consumers, the stakes are more than academic. Beef prices remain stubbornly high, even as inflation has moderated in other areas of the grocery store. President Trump has claimed—falsely, according to Common Dreams—that the prices of all grocery products are down except for beef. Meanwhile, ranchers and smaller producers continue to feel squeezed by the dominance of the big four packers, who control the vast majority of processing capacity and wield significant power over pricing throughout the supply chain.
So, what happens next? That’s the question on everyone’s mind. The DOJ has yet to comment publicly on the scope or timeline of its new investigation, and industry insiders are waiting to see whether this probe will break the cycle of quiet closures and inaction. As Farm Action put it, "For this one to matter, it must end with enforcement." The law is there. The evidence, some say, is mounting. But as ever, it may come down to whether there’s the political will to take on some of the most powerful players in American agriculture.
For now, both ranchers and shoppers are left watching—and waiting—to see if this latest chapter in the beef industry’s long-running saga will finally bring meaningful change.