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US: AG asked to block merger of Iowa beef packer

By  |  April 1, 2019

R-CALF USA sent a formal request to US Attorney General William P. Barr urging him to block the proposed acquisition of Iowa beef packer Iowa Premium by National Beef Packing, which is now majority owned by Brazil-based Marfrig Global Foods.

In its nine-page letter, R-CALF USA wrote that National Beef’s acquisition of Iowa Premium will substantially reduce competition for fed cattle regionally as well as nationally, thus harming independent U.S. cattle producers, and will also likely substantially reduce competition for boxed beef, which will harm American consumers.

The letter points out that National Beef is a member of the “Big 4,” which the group identifies as controlling 85% of the nation’s fed cattle market. National Beef slaughters 12,000 fed cattle per day, and Iowa Premium slaughters 1,100 fed cattle per day, making Iowa Premium the nation’s 20th-largest beef packer.

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