Can USDA’s Initiatives Spur Competition in Meatpacking?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture undertook several initiatives during 2022-2025 aimed at competition in livestock and poultry markets. The Department provided financial support for new and expanded processing facilities at small and mid-size firms, with the goal of reducing concentration and increasing competition. It also introduced new rules regulating the contracts offered by poultry processors to the growers who raise animals for them, with the goal of altering the competitive balance betw