IARN — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to continue a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the nation’s four biggest meatpackers.
This week, Grassley and several of his Senate colleagues sent a letter requesting the DOJ provide Congress with updates on its investigation and encouraged ongoing vigilance on the issue.
“You may remember last year I wrote a letter asking for such investigations and you may remember at that time that I was surprised the DOJ was following up on it and they were getting information from some of the meat processors,” said Grassley. “This letter is to get an update on their findings. We continue to see large discrepancies between fed cattle and boxed beef prices.”
The letter this week states that cattle producers, especially small feeders, are again experiencing difficult conditions that are threatening their ability to stay in business. With a tight supply chain, any changes in processing capacity can have a dramatic impact on cattle prices, preventing producers from capturing margin from boxed beef rallies.
“Can you believe that last year packers were making over thousand dollars on average for a steer weighing approximately 1450 pounds? And it hasn’t reduced the price of beef to the consumer,” said Grassley. “The issues are limited competition, captive supply, formula contracting and the highest corn prices since 2013.”
“So, you can imagine our cattle producers have financial burdens that have probably forced some of them out of business,” Grassley continued. “Congress cannot sit idly by and let a few mega corporations get away with bankrupting the cattle producers, and in turn, hurting rural America.”
The letter was also signed by Iowa Senator Joni Ernst and Iowa Representatives Randy Feenstra, Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks. The full text of the letter can be viewed here.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network
Pictured: Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (Photo courtesy of Ninian Reid/Flickr Creative Commons)
