Undercover at CattleCon: Ranchers & Insiders Expose How Tyson, JBS, Cargill, & National Beef Secretly Control America's Beef Market. The OMG team did a deep dive, going undercover at CattleCon 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. We spoke with beef industry insiders and ranchers about the top four companies, Tyson, JBS,... Cargill, and National Beef, which dominate U.S. beef processing. These four companies process the majority of U.S. beef. Over time, dozens of smaller processors merged into four major companies now known as the “Big Four.” “They [Big Four] are buying like all the companies in the United States… so they don’t have competition.” “They [Big Four] can knock you out of this industry in two seconds.” “They [Big Four] closed all the markets — all the markets are theirs in Brazil and now in the U.S.” In November 2025, President Trump tweeted that cattle prices were falling while boxed beef prices kept rising, calling it “fishy.” With the Department of Justice urging action over possible price manipulation by major meatpackers, we decided to investigate and do something about it. Our team spoke directly with ranchers and industry partners, documenting firsthand how the “Big Four” dominate the market and impact pricing. As beef prices climb, many cattle producers say they have little influence over the prices they receive, raising questions about how costs are set from the ranch to the store shelf. The Department of Justice has looked into whether the biggest beef companies have too much control over the industry and whether they worked together to raise prices. The “Big Four” companies deny any wrongdoing, insisting that prices are driven solely by supply and demand. Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef control most of the U.S. beef industry, raising serious questions about who really sets the price. So when you see higher prices at the grocery store, it’s worth asking why. This may explain why your steak keeps costing more. Tyson Foods jbsusa JBS @NationalBeeff Cargill U.S. Department of Justice Pam Bondi Antitrust Divisionshow more

@SecRollins @POTUS The same COSTCO pkg of 4-5 ribeye steaks that cost about $42 in 2022 is now $130+. Do you think middle class Americans can afford to spend $28-$32 PER TEENAGER for a midweek steak dinner? Pot roast? Used to be $1.99/lb now $8.99/lb. It’s time to break up the price fixing.

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Straight up slam dunk price fixing: felony under Section One of the Sherman Act. 10 years in federal prison. Millions in fines. Solid investigative journalism. @PamBondi @TheJusticeDept

Can we do something about the Meat Mafia?! Time to protect and support our local ranchers. We need Farm to Table. @SecRollins @SecKennedy @StephenM @DOGE @EdMartinDOJ @LeoTerrellDOJ @AGPamBondi @USDA

Don't forget this👇👇👇

The vast majority of American industries are controlled by these kinds of oligoploies. Not just banking, not just agriculture, not just pharmaceuticals... everything.

02/13/26 I wrote why we pay so much for beef:

The Big Four meatpackers’ stranglehold on 85% of U.S. beef processing isn’t free-market competition—it’s a rigged system bleeding ranchers dry while consumers pay inflated prices. The Preventing Algorithmic Collusion Act (S.232) directly targets this abuse by banning pricing algorithms trained on nonpublic competitor data, a tool these giants exploit to coordinate bids and suppress cattle prices. JBS’s $83.5M price-fixing settlement in 2025 proves the racket: they artificially depress ranch payouts while hiking supermarket margins. When four firms control an entire supply chain, “supply and demand” becomes a cover for collusion. Rebuilding domestic food security means enforcing antitrust laws, reinstating Country-of-Origin labeling, and dismantling this cartel’s grip on America’s dinner plates.

Massie has a solution.

Pass the PRIME act. This criminal cartel controls processing in the US. They screw our ranchers. @beefinitiative is a way around the cartel. More needs to be done. This cannot be allowed.

Incidentally, no industry has been under attack as long and hard as the American beef ranchers. We have a million fewer independent ranchers now than 50 years ago. Turns out, this has had consequences at the grocery store

That’s easy fix. Go buy directly from the ranchers and stop buying all those big 4 meats at groceries. They will fall very quick.

Thought @POTUS @SecRollins were going to end the meat processing mafia!

Ranchers need to look into alternatives; here’s one

Can we do anything about the manipulation of beef prices @SecRollins? Seems like a monopoly is developing. @WhiteHouse @SusieWiles @POTUS

GREAT REPORT!

Why is US meat being sold overseas and so much imported meat being sold in stores? That’s another concerning question! Why isn’t mostly US-produced meat being sold in stores to keep costs low and safety ensured? Many Americans would like to see exports of everything reduced! American needs should be addressed first!

Exactly Tyson employee here. The things you see goin on in there are very nauseating. I encourage everyone not to buy Tyson. Trust me. You don't want to eat that.

This is why I am thankful I live where I can purchase a cow from a farmer and have it processed by a local, American owned butcher…

Three of the "Big Four" meat packers, Cargill, JBS and Tyson, are members. works with the world's largest companies to provide jobs for refugees (illegals).

Cc:@realDonaldTrump @AGPamBondi @TheJusticeDept @FBIDirectorKash @AAGDhillon James has uncovered these people are purposely working against Trump.

It isn’t just cattle. This is even more prevalent in the seed and chemical industry. They’re supposed to be a DOJ look back period on some mergers. However, sadly, the administration is being really friendly to Bayer German owned, and syngenta China owned corporations

Something obviously needs to be done. This was an interesting read:

I like beef! I DON'T like people CHEATING the American people with high beef prices via pass through costs, monopolies and the Brazilian Mafia involved...

That fat f**k would let the Batista bros bang his wife for a free Rolex checkup.

They are an illegal cartel

Ban fake meat, it is not a legitimate industry. It is a threat to American cattle producers and a threat to national food security. Require labels on meat for country of origin and slaughter. Many “farmers” and “farmer organizations” in politics are selling out their neighbors for campaign contributions and globalist interests…it appears. They are really political operative wannabes climbing ladders of title and position.

I interviewed a bunch of Illinois farmers 10 years ago and was stunned at the dirty machine that runs our food supply.

I've been aware of the meat packing cartel for quite a while now. There needs to be extensive antitrust lawsuits an forced breakup of these large monopolies. US ranchers are forced to keep their herds low in order to get better prices from these cartels.

something needs to be done about this....President Trump needs to look into this....

Please clarify that the big 4 process foreign beef, pork and chicken...then label it Product of USA.

The USDA has made grants and business resources available for small businesses to invest into the agriculture industry. Bring back small butchers. Unlock the monopoly. Support our farms direct!

I was a little disappointed with this one. Beef packers don't go to NCBA convention. You just caught cattle feeders on tape saying the same thing in private that they have said since the 1930's when packer consolidation started. The star of your coverage was JBS, but no one mentioned that National is also Brazilian. I would be more impressed if you could get some insider information from a packer. Or maybe a look at Smithfield owned by the Chinese. Syngenta (China), Bayer (Germany) why are American farmers and ranchers getting squeezed at both ends (processing and inputs) by foreign owned corporations. Much less the big one bank. That would tell us more than a couple of liquored up cattle feeders.

The Big Four also have an extensive criminal record involving price fixing, bribes, kickbacks, animal abuse, environmental crimes and much more. Why they're allowed to keep operating remains a mystery.

"This may explain why your steak keeps costing more." It doesn't. Low supply does. We have the lowest number of cattle since 1952 or so. We had as many as 110 million heads in the 1980s and 1990s. We have 86 million now. And declining.