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Posted on 05/04/2026 11:33:11 AM PDT by DFG
Today, just four companies — JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef — control roughly 85% of the cattle processing market. That level of concentration has surged from just 25% in 1977 to 71% by 1992, and now to an astonishing 85%.
Together, these companies operate through dozens of subsidiary businesses, creating a landscape that leaves many of our cattle producers with limited marketing options.
For some ranchers this means less marketing opportunities, complicating an already challenging marketplace.
We must work to address this to protect our ranchers and consumers.
@POTUS and this administration are focused on promoting fairness and competition — ensuring our producers have options and a level playing field. 🇺🇸🥩
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That there are 4 of them is amazing. But it is a trend.
remember the big 3 in American auto manufacturing?
Whether this is a good thing or not is a whole different matter, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. It’s almost the natural order of things as an industry matures — until it eventually ends up in a duopoly where two major players dominate the industry. Think Home Depot and Lowe’s, Staples and Office Depot, Boeing and Airbus, etc.
“these companies operate through dozens of subsidiary businesses”
force ‘em to divest themselves of their vertical subsidiaries ...
Let’s be honest - GOVERNMENT gave these 4 companies their dominate position over small, local, private/family, slaughterhouses
EPA regulations on water, land-use
FDA regulations on slaughter, processing,
USDA monitoring
ability to import mass/cheap migrant labor
concentrated retail like Walmart, COSTCO, etc...
ability to lobby / work in DC
ALL of this benefits large, connected-crony companies.
Google and facebook control almost everything people see worldwide.
Some larger ranches have begun selling their beef online.
Tyson Foods began as a chicken company in Arkansas the 1930s, founded by John W. Tyson. It grew into the world’s largest producer of chicken, and made a business decision to get into other foods.
It has since diversified into pork, prepared foods, and is a top producer of beef,
and remains one of the largest poultry producers and processors in the world.
Tyson Foods and its executives maintained a close, long-term relationship with Bill and Hillary Clinton, providing significant financial and logistical support.
Don Tyson and his employees contributed to Clinton’s Arkansas gubernatorial and losing Congressional campaigns and his presidential runs.
Key ties included Tyson attorney James Blair helping Hillary Clinton secure a $100,000 profit in cattle futures and corporate support for Clinton campaigns and events.
Tyson Foods flourished w/ Bill Clinton as Arkansas governor.
Critics and reports alleging Tyson received beneficial state treatment—such as specialized tax credits, favorable environmental regulations, and government loans—in exchange for financial support of Clinton’s political campaigns........ and financial advice for Hillary Clinton from a top company executive.
Break ‘em up!
And cricket meat.
I have not bought a single Tyson food product since Bill Clinton came on the national scene. How close is the relationship among Tyson, Clinton, and the Chicoms ?
Barriers to entry at the level of the slaughterhouse are probably very low. My uncles and grandparents still did it themselves, and still had smokehouses. And my mom, aunts and grandparents know what to do with live chickens. I’ve only killed and dressed a chicken once, long ago, so I don’t claim any expertise. (Fish I can handle.)
I presume it’s the demands of national and international marketing that drive concentration. If you live in farm country, ask around and find a local independent supplier.
I haven’t made an effort to do that myself, but I came across one by accident a couple of years ago when I was exploring around the edges of a Civil War battlefield. This was an area that ideally would be part of the battlefield park but isn’t. In this case, leaving it in private hands with a preservation easement and some mutually acceptable pubic access for viewing would be sufficient; the main thing is to make sure Virginia doesn’t turn it into another data center. Which is what Virginia will do given the chance.
This was a working farm with a farm to market store tucked away on the property. I make a point to stop in whenever I’m in the area. My usual purchase is their elderberry cordial, which I try to keep handy in my growing pantry of unusual toppings for ice cream for those of us who have had enough chocolate syrup.
Re Tyson and Clinton, IIRC, there was proof that the prison system under Clinton had some fraud deal regarding using prisoners at Tyson for cheap labor. Disclaimer: This is how I remember it; IDK if I’m remembering correctly. There was some stink going on between the two.
We stopped buying Tyson then.
The relationship among Tyson Foods, the Clinton family, and business interests in China has been described as a long-standing, interconnected network involving Arkansas politics, corporate expansion, and political fundraising. Tyson Foods, a major Arkansas-based company, has had close ties to Bill and Hillary Clinton since the late 1970s, while simultaneously expanding its operations into China beginning in the 1990s.
Tyson-Clinton Relationship—Arkansas Origins: Don Tyson, the late former CEO of Tyson Foods, was an early and significant supporter of Bill Clinton’s political career.Business Intersections: James B. Blair, the former general counsel for Tyson Foods, assisted Hillary Clinton in making profitable cattle futures trades in the late 1970s.
In 1997, Tyson Foods pleaded guilty to giving illegal gratuities to Mike Espy, Bill Clinton’s first Secretary of Agriculture. The company paid $6 million in fines and costs, but President Clinton later pardoned a former company communications director in 2000.Defense: While critics alleged special favors, the Clintons defended their relationship with Tyson as support for a major Arkansas employer.
Tyson Foods entered the Chinese market in 2001 and has established significant production operations, including breeding farms and processing plants.Strategic Market: China became a key part of Tyson’s international expansion.Recent Changes: In 2023, Tyson Foods reportedly explored selling its poultry business in China as part of a restructuring effort, though they have maintained a strong presence there for over two decades.
As President, Bill Clinton pursued a policy of “constructive engagement” with China, supporting its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) to expand U.S. market access, including for American agricultural products.
Foundation Donations: The Clinton Foundation received donations from Chinese entities, including a $250,000 contribution from Alibaba and a $2 million pledge from a Chinese company with links to the Chinese government (Rilin Enterprises) in 2013, around the time Hillary Clinton concluded her tenure as Secretary of State.
The connections are characterized by intersecting interests: Tyson expanded business into China during the same period that the Clinton Administration promoted increased economic ties with Beijing.
While supporters argue these relationships were standard business and diplomatic practices, critics have often highlighted the proximity of these Arkansas business interests to high-level policy decisions and financial dealings.
There is no direct evidence that Bill Clinton specifically authorized Tyson Foods to use prison labor during his tenure as Governor of Arkansas. However, the claim likely stems from two documented facts: Clinton’s personal use of unpaid prison labor at the Governor’s Mansion and Tyson Foods’ historical and modern-day use of incarcerated workers.
During his time as Governor, Bill and Hillary Clinton utilized unpaid prison labor for household tasks, gardening, and serving meals at the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion.
Hillary Clinton wrote in her 1996 book, It Takes a Village, that using “trustees” (incarcerated individuals) was a longstanding Arkansas tradition that helped keep costs down.Demographics: The workers were predominantly African American men, a practice that has since been criticized as resembling “modern-day slavery” due to the lack of pay and forced nature of the labor.
A 2024 investigation by The Associated Press found that agricultural products harvested by prisoners, including livestock, continue to enter the supply chains of major corporations like Tyson Foods and Walmart.Poultry Plant Programs: Tyson has utilized incarcerated labor through work-release programs, specifically in Alabama, where individuals are transported to poultry plants for day jobs.Company Stance: Tyson’s official policies prohibit forced labor but do not explicitly ban the use of prison labor, which the company describes as voluntary participation.
The perceived link between Clinton and Tyson’s labor practices is often reinforced by their well-documented political history. As Governor, Clinton had close ties with Don Tyson, the company’s chairman, who was a significant donor to his campaigns. While Clinton faced allegations of providing Tyson with “undue influence”—such as favorable environmental decisions and increasing truck weight limits—none of the investigations centered specifically on a “quid pro quo” for prison labor.
Tyson Foods Inc - AFSC Investigate
Tyson uses incarcerated labor at its poultry plants. For example, incarcerated individuals in Alabama are “leased” out and transported...snip
This is not the result of a level capitalist playing field. This is the result of laws directly driving small packing houses out of business.
Limited government would solve much of the issues caused by crony capitalism by decreasing the leverage Federal agencies have over industry and commerce. However, the first monopolies or trusts as they were called began to dominate sections of American industry in the late 19th Century. The antitrust and pure food and drug laws were established to break up monopolies. To do so, the Federal government had to expand its powers beyond the limits intended by the Framers. The same expansive powers were later used to build up tax and regulatory obstacles for start up companies.
The same is true for every other food commodity.
It’s long past time to implement antitrust laws to break up the cartel pricing our meat to the stratosphere.
Makes for easy price fixing ya think?
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