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Expanded antitrust enforcement in agriculture is a promising sign for farmers, ranchers • South Dakota Searchlight

Posted on by darion

As a fourth-generation Brown County rancher and cattle rancher, I am determined to enable my children to become fifth-generation family farmers. That is why, since the 1980s, I have advocated for the enforcement of antitrust laws that protect family farmers and ranchers from abuses and market manipulation by meat processors.

Now, as president of South Dakota’s largest agricultural organization, I am encouraged by the decision of the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division to expand the resources and efforts devoted to enforcing the antitrust laws in agriculture. This expansion shows that the division is listening to cattle producers and other agricultural producers who have been negatively impacted by corporate market manipulation.

For decades, South Dakota Farmers Union members have worked with the National Farmers Union to advocate for an investigation into the manipulation of agricultural markets. In 2022 and 2023, the South Dakota Farmers Union led a group of South Dakota cattle producers to Washington, D.C., to meet with Michael Kades, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division. In 2023, Kades attended the South Dakota Farmers Union State Convention.

Kades stayed in South Dakota for several additional days and met with our members personally, touring their cattle ranches, feedlots, and barns to hear their testimonies about the market manipulation they and their neighbors experience. The Department of Justice’s efforts to increase civil and criminal enforcement personnel in the agriculture sector give us hope that justice will prevail and wrongs will be righted.

A chart from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service shows that prices for cattle, hogs and broilers (young chickens) have not kept pace with inflation.
A chart from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service shows that prices for cattle, hogs and broilers (young chickens) have not kept pace with inflation.

Kades made the announcement on June 21. The Justice Department is hiring more attorneys for its Chicago office, who will focus primarily on antitrust, competition and integrity in agricultural supply chains. The new team is the first of its kind in the Midwest.

While some may try to make this a political football, it is not. This effort has been a long time coming—for four decades and through multiple presidential administrations, both Republican and Democratic. It wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic caused meat plant closures and meat shortages in stores that market manipulation and consolidation really got the attention they deserved. I am proud that the Farmers Union’s Fairness for Farmers campaign led the fight for change.

The Department of Justice’s announcement gives me hope and a modicum of satisfaction knowing that our work on behalf of South Dakota’s cattle industry and justice for farmers has been worthwhile.

You can do a lot with money – like meatpacking companies – but you can also do a lot with big numbers and a unified voice. This is an example of what can be done when cattle ranchers, ranchers and consumers across the country come together.

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