Governor Kristi Noem and five other governors wrote to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), asking them to continue their investigation into anti-competitive practices in the meatpacking industry. The DOJ had originally sent investigative demands to the nation’s four largest meatpackers in May 2020.

“Perhaps no person embodies the independent and untamable spirit of the United States better than the cattle producer,” wrote Governor Noem and the other governors. “But this way of life is under threat. Decades of consolidation in meatpacking has significantly limited the options that producers have to market their cattle and has created a situation where one segment of the beef industry has near total control over the entire market.”

The governors highlighted the threat to consumers as prices of meat at the grocery store continue to rise, all while beef producers are struggling to make ends meet.

“The consistently high prices realized on the boxed beef side are not being reflected on the producer side, forcing consumers to pay a premium for beef while threatening many of our producers with the loss of their business,” wrote the governors.

Governor Noem was joined in signing the letter by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. You can read the governors’ letter here.