Trump DOJ targets beef industry as prices keep rising
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The Trump administration is ramping up pressure on the beef industry amid mounting consternation over near record-high meat prices.
Why it matters: Ground beef averaged about $6.70 per pound in March — about 16% higher than a year earlier, highlighting persistent cost pressures for U.S. consumers.
Between the lines: The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the industry over cattle auction prices, WSJ and Bloomberg reported Monday.
- It comes after Trump said in November that he would order the Justice Department to investigate the meatpacking industry for alleged collusion and price fixing.
- The probe by the DOJ's antitrust division is examining "how beef companies buy cattle from ranchers through contracts that reference a pricing benchmark that some ranchers have complained is manipulated," WSJ reported.
- DOJ declined to comment.
Reality check: The beef industry has been grappling with a global shortage of cattle for years, much of it due to severe drought — and it's expected to get worse.
- The 2025 calf crop in the U.S. was 32.9 million, down 2% from 2024, a second straight record low, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.
- AFBF is projecting another decline in 2026 and 2027 with a "possibility of some herd expansion by 2028."
- "These higher prices are driven mostly by structural factors," said Dennis Follmer, chief investment officer at Montis Financial, adding that "consumers shouldn't expect near-term relief."
Behind the scenes: Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS and National Beef are among the targeted companies in the investigation, Bloomberg reported.
- Each of them did not respond to requests for comment.
- Tyson recently closed a beef facility in Nebraska and reduced operations at a plant in Texas as it deals with the contraction in beef supply, CEO Donnie King said in February.
The bottom line: "Looking forward, we expect cattle supplies to remain tight throughout 2026 and 2027," King said.
Editor's note: This story was corrected to state that the 2025 calf crop in the U.S. was estimated by the American Farm Bureau Federation at 32.9 million (not 2.9 million).
