Missouri Farmers Question Meat Industry Prices

Some Missouri farmers and consumer advocates think the U-S meat industry is using another crisis to justify price-fixing and possible collusion.

The Missouri Farm Bureau wants to look into why farmers were paid less for animals by meatpackers during the COVID-19 pandemic while the price for ground beef at some grocery stores was more than the usual price for a steak.

The U-S Department of Agriculture’s investigating similar issues that surfaced after a Tyson cattle processing plant caught fire last summer.

The Bureau points out four companies process over 80-percent of the country’s beef.