0:01 You probably know beef is getting more expensive, but do you know why?
0:05 Let's take a look at the meat aisle in this grocery store.
0:08 It seems like you have plenty of options,
0:10 but most of this beef is processed by just four companies.
0:14 Together, they control about 80% of the market.
0:17 >> I call them the beef cartel.
0:19 >> The big four haven't been convicted of any wrongdoing,
0:22 but the Department of Justice is investigating how this kind of consolidation impacts what
0:27 you pay.
0:28 Not to mention antitrust and collusion lawsuits from retailers like Target and McDonald's.
0:34 A pound of ground beef cost about $6.89 in the US on average.
0:39 That's 80% more expensive than in 2019.
0:43 For US cattle ranchers,
0:44 you'd think high retail prices would at least translate to more profit,
0:48 but they say they're feeling the squeeze, too.
0:51 >> The more them industries consolidate,
0:54 the easier it is for them to up the price and cut us out.
0:59 >> Droughts, high production costs, and fewer cows are pushing prices up.
1:04 But that's not the whole story.
1:06 We followed the supply chain from the farm all the way to your table
1:10 to find out what's actually making America's beef
1:13 so expensive.
1:18 To understand how the industry became so consolidated,
1:21 we have to go back nearly seven decades.
1:24 Before the 1960s, beef was shipped
1:26 as whole carcasses to butchers who would divide
1:29 and package it themselves.
1:32 >> You won't be disappointed in these steaks, man.
1:34 >> When meat packers started cutting and boxing beef right next to the slaughterhouse,
1:38 it transformed the industry, shifting control from local butchers to centralized plants.
1:44 These large operations were far more efficient
1:46 and made it harder for small ones to compete.
1:50 The Nixon administration pushed for this kind of growth across the farming industry.
1:55 During his tenure in the early 70s,
1:57 the US Secretary of Agriculture routinely told producers to get big or get out.
2:04 By the late 70s, consolidation in the meatpacking industry had started to take shape.
2:09 Unlike today, the four biggest producers controlled just 25% of the market.
2:14 Technological advancements in the 80s improved efficiency and scalability, and once bigger became cheaper,
2:21 deregulation made it even easier for large companies to take over.
2:26 Throughout this time, regulators and academics raised their concerns about the effects of consolidation,
2:31 but it continued largely unchecked.
2:34 After decades of mergers and acquisitions,
2:36 today's big four have absorbed
2:38 or replaced the previous dominant firms
2:41 and boosted their market share to more than 80%.
2:45 This lack of competition gives the big four a lot of power.
2:49 But how does this make the beef you buy at the grocery store more
2:52 expensive than it's ever been?
2:55 To understand that, we have to go to the very start of the supply
2:58 chain,
2:58 where even before consolidation concerns, cattle ranchers are struggling.
3:06 >> We're 7 mi from the nearest asphalt road,
3:09 and we wouldn't have it any other way.
3:12 >> Eric Roper runs a cow-calf operation in South Dakota,
3:16 and calving season is about to begin.
3:19 >> A cow's gestational cycle is 9 months.
3:21 You get one crack at it, you know, a year.
3:25 My cows are out on winter grass.
3:28 This is the easy time of year,
3:30 cuz as long as the grass is feeding them, I don't have to.
3:34 >> Grass is a precious resource
3:35 when your ranch sits on a drought zone like Eric's.
3:39 As of May 2026, 61% of US cattle were on land affected by drought.
3:44 When drought dries up Eric's grass,
3:46 he loses his cheapest and least labor-intensive feed source,
3:50 so he has to buy feed, which adds to his expenses.
3:54 >> It costs roughly $1,100 a year to run a cow,
3:58 when it used to cost 5 to 800.
4:03 >> The total operating costs for a cow-calf operations jumped 29% between 2020
4:08 and 2025.
4:10 And because it costs more to raise cattle,
4:12 ranchers like Eric are more eager to sell off their stock rather than keep
4:16 some to maintain or build the size of their herd.
4:20 >> You do that all over the United States with this older generation cashing
4:24 in on a high market.
4:25 That's a whole lot of cows gone.
4:28 >> That's led to the lowest total herd size in the US since 1951.
4:33 All of this puts ranchers in a tough spot before they ever sell a
4:36 single cow.
4:40 While meat packers don't typically buy directly from ranchers,
4:43 the selling stage is where their impact on the market becomes clearer.
4:47 We'll explain.
4:49 A rancher like Eric sells many calves to feedlots,
4:52 where they go to grow until they're ready for slaughter.
4:55 After about 4 to 6 months, feedlots sell cattle to meat packers.
4:59 Roughly 80% are processed by one of the big four.
5:03 Feedlots base what they can pay on what they expect to get for finished
5:06 cattle later.
5:07 When packers bid lower, what ranchers get paid shrinks, too.
5:12 >> I'm a price taker.
5:13 As a rancher, you're a price taker.
5:19 >> After the pandemic, meat packer profits rose.
5:22 Two of the big four reported record earnings in 2022.
5:27 >> This can't possibly happen in a competitive market.
5:33 >> And during the pandemic,
5:34 the difference between what a rancher was paid for cattle
5:37 and the prices meat packers set reached its highest peak.
5:41 All while consumer prices also went up.
5:44 >> Back in the spring of 2020, the you know,
5:47 meat packing plants were all over the news.
5:50 >> For the last month, we saw a huge price jump at the meat counter.
5:53 >> Meat prices are expected to jump by up to 20%.
5:56 >> We will all be paying more for meat at the grocery store for
5:59 months to come.
6:01 >> That leak prompted the DOJ to ask
6:03 if meat packers were illegally coordinating to keep the price they pay for cattle
6:08 low and wholesale prices high.
6:11 A wide gap between the two could mean more money for the meat packers.
6:14 >> Is there or was there ever an agreement to cooperate together on issues
6:24 impacting supply or pricing?
6:30 >> No.
6:30 >> No.
6:30 >> Not that I am aware of.
6:33 >> Outside of the House Agricultural Committee meeting,
6:35 the companies didn't publicly say much about the matter at the time.
6:38 And none of the big four responded to our request for comment.
6:42 The pandemic did cause some changes.
6:44 Labor shortages and plant closures contributed to higher beef prices.
6:49 The Meat Institute, the primary lobbying group representing the big four meat packers,
6:53 says other input costs like energy and transportation are also a factor.
6:58 At the same time, the demand for beef increased.
7:01 >> Because all of a sudden we were eating you know,
7:04 all of our meals at home in many parts of the country
7:07 because of the stay-at-home restrictions.
7:09 And so, decrease in supply, increase in demand,
7:14 prices had nowhere to go but up.
7:16 >> Ranchers had already filed an antitrust suit against the big four the year
7:21 before COVID hit.
7:23 The lawsuit alleged that since at least 2015,
7:25 meat packers were working together to keep cattle prices artificially low even
7:30 as beef prices rose.
7:32 Tyson responded by saying as with similar lawsuits concerning chicken and pork,
7:37 there's simply no merit to the allegations that Tyson colluded with competitors.
7:42 That case resulted in an 83.5 million dollar settlement with JBS,
7:47 but the company admitted no wrongdoing.
7:49 Neither the ranchers suit nor the DOJ investigation led to major changes to the
7:54 industry.
7:55 But fast forward to 2025
7:57 and ranchers were getting record high prices for their cattle
8:00 because demand was high
8:01 and supply was low.
8:03 The problem, like Eric said,
8:05 it already costs a lot more to raise cattle these days.
8:08 The other problem, prices can shift quickly.
8:11 And that's what happened in October of 2025.
8:14 >> We are working on beef
8:16 and I think we have a deal with on beef.
8:19 >> President Donald Trump's plan to import more beef from Argentina was meant to
8:23 increase supply and reduce consumer prices.
8:27 What immediately happened was
8:28 that cattle prices dropped
8:29 because of the uncertainty the announcement caused.
8:32 After that dip, some ranchers have estimated losing 200 to 300 dollars per cow
8:37 sold,
8:38 all while consumer prices remain high.
8:42 >> We all know and love good prices, but after 2014 and 15,
8:46 we know they can be yanked out from under us
8:48 so fast and put us back on the back in the line of almost
8:53 going broke that the generational gap of baby boomers
8:59 and a little younger than
9:00 that are cashing out in this good market.
9:05 >> Six years after the original investigation,
9:07 the DOJ has announced another probe into the same four companies.
9:12 >> These companies now have an unprecedented ability to wield market power.
9:16 >> In a Truth Social post from November 2025,
9:20 Trump said he asked the Justice Department to investigate the meat packing industry once
9:24 again.
9:25 His reasoning was nearly identical to the first time,
9:28 accusing the big four of driving up the price of beef through illicit collusion,
9:32 price fixing, and price manipulation.
9:35 Meat packers maintain they've still done nothing wrong.
9:38 In a statement to Business Insider,
9:40 the Meat Institute said the Packers have been losing money for more than 2
9:44 years because of record-high cattle prices.
9:47 And a JBS USA spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal
9:51 that the company operates in a highly regulated industry
9:54 and is committed to complying with all applicable regulations.
9:59 Data from the USDA shows
10:01 that prices ranchers get paid for cattle are generally rising faster than wholesale prices
10:06 meatpackers charge.
10:07 Still, wholesale prices are on the rise.
10:10 And this time around, the Big Four's business partners are suing them as well.
10:15 Companies like Target, BJ's Wholesale,
10:17 and McDonald's say there's also collusion
10:20 and price gouging on their side of the supply chain.
10:24 This isn't just a legal drama.
10:26 It's showing up in your lunch.
10:29 High wholesale prices mean changes in retail, too.
10:34 >> Our sort of house burger is a fried onion cheeseburger
10:38 that is an authentic burger
10:39 that was made in Oklahoma.
10:41 >> Hamburger America opened in 2023 as an homage to the history of the hamburger.
10:46 >> They were meant to be cheap.
10:47 They were meant to be affordable.
10:49 >> Burgers at this New York City joint start at $7.75,
10:53 25 cents more than they cost last year.
10:56 The restaurant says it's absorbing the rest of its increased expenses.
11:00 Its wholesale beef costs are up by more than 20% since 2023.
11:06 >> I mean, we're we're paying in this restaurant more than double what I
11:09 started paying,
11:09 you know, when I when I my my first hamburger restaurant 17 years ago.
11:14 >> Hamburger America sources its ground beef from Schweid & Sons,
11:17 a small family-owned ground beef processor in New Jersey.
11:21 Schweid & Sons sources some of its beef from the Big Four.
11:24 So, even small businesses often rely on the larger system.
11:28 >> We work very closely with our supplier to try to maintain the prices
11:32 tight as we possibly can.
11:34 They're under pressure, also, and they have to pass along their costs.
11:37 >> Andrew is focused on passing as little cost to the customer as possible.
11:41 >> It's very important to us that the hamburger is affordable.
11:44 >> And there are certain things Andrew says Hamburger America will never change.
11:49 >> We won't change our quality.
11:50 We won't change our sizes at all, you know, based upon rising costs.
11:54 You know, we we will not do that.
11:57 >> The company's current strategy to avoid raising prices further is a simple one.
12:02 >> We hope to do more business and bring more customers in so that,
12:05 you know, at the end of the day we we you know,
12:06 if we do more business,
12:07 we can afford to sell it at a slightly lower margin.
12:11 >> If beef prices continue to rise, Hamburger America will have to rethink its plan.
12:16 >> Even in this restaurant, since we opened in 2023,
12:18 our beef prices are up over 20%.
12:20 I mean, if it went up 30, 40% overnight,
12:22 we might have to have a different conversation.
12:25 >> There are a few things that could lower beef prices.
12:28 The big four could face new regulations, or demand could drop.
12:32 But, >> for meaningful price relief,
12:36 um I think we need supply to increase or loosen.
12:39 >> And for supply to increase, ranchers have to be able to afford expansion.
12:44 Eric says to do so, one thing is crucial, more competition.
12:49 >> We don't need government bailouts.
12:52 We don't need more government crop insurance or some kind of new cattle insurance.
12:59 We need to fix the market to put some producer confidence back in this
13:02 game.
13:04 >> The Meat Institute agrees that more cows is the answer.
13:07 It told us that to get there,
13:08 it supports increased access to foreign markets
13:11 and easing of regulatory burdens for cattle producers.
13:15 In a statement to Business Insider,
13:17 a USDA spokesperson pointed to the agency's beef action plan,
13:21 an effort to rebuild herd sizes through things like expanding grazing on federal lands
13:25 and reducing inspection fees for small processors.
13:29 Eric says, if nothing changes,
13:31 independent American cattle ranchers might be a thing of the past.
13:36 >> All these small towns you drove through to get here, they're drying up.
13:40 The stores on Main Street are closing.
13:42 And it's because our ag economy, Trump's first administration, the acting secretary said,
13:49 "We'll get bigger, get out."
13:51 >> Sound familiar?
13:53 >> You cannot consolidate a market without bad repercussions, and we're living it.
13:59 The older generation is like, "I can't do this."
14:03 The younger generation is like, "I'm not working that hard for no pay."
14:07 My hope for the future is we give this next generation a chance to
14:11 ranch,
14:12 and not be controlled.
