WASHINGTON — In Mid-September, U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) introduced the Packers and Stockyards Improvements Act, legislation to address rising meat and poultry prices.
The bill would improve the USDA’s enforcement tools under the Packers and Stockyards Act and prohibit anti-competitive behavior in the meat and poultry industry, according to a statement from Rep. Scanlon’s team.
“As mergers and corporate takeovers have consolidated power in the meat and poultry industry, consumers and producers have paid the price,” Scanlon said. “The Packers and Stockyards Act has been crucial for enforcing compliance but lacks sufficient tools to protect Americans from paying outrageous costs. The Trump Administration’s deregulation of the industry will only help his corporate buddies to maximize profits while continuing to hurt ranchers, farmers, and American families. I’m proud to introduce the Packers and Stockyards Improvement Act to lower costs for consumers and strengthen protections for our ranchers and farmers.”
In recent years, the meat and poultry sector has undergone a drastic shift with just four major corporations, Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef, controlling about 85 percent of the U.S. beef packing, 67 percent of the pork market, and 60 percent of poultry producing, result in skyrocketing prices for consumers, the statement noted.
The original Packers and Stockyards Act was passed in 1921 to encourage fair competition and trade practices, but it has done little to prevent increasing consolidation and the resulting price increases, which has further intensified the cost-of-living crisis for America’s working class.
To address the major changes from the first Trump administration, including the weakening of Packers and Stockyards protection, the USDA released a study entitled “Agricultural Competition: A Plan in Support of Fair and Competitive Markets” as a part of President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy to use existing authorities to promote competition and protect ranchers and farmers from abusive meatpacker practices, the statement noted.
The USDA’s study reported findings that led the department to implementing two new rules and proposing a third, but, in July 2026, the Trump administration rescinded those new rules.
To address these insufficiencies, the Packers and Stockyard Improvements Act would:
- Add poultry growers to administrative litigation authority under USDA.
- Allow the Packers and Stockyards Division to have regular access to Livestock Mandatory Reporting Data to better monitor for violations.
- Give USDA civil investigative demand authority for potential violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
- Provide a standard whistleblower protection for employees and contractors of regulated businesses who report suspected violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
The Packers and Stockyards Improvements Act would further strengthen our ability to combat contemporary anticompetitive practices in meat and poultry markets and add a new list of per se violations to address commonly used practices that lessen competition and punish suppliers, growers, and farmers, the statement added.
The bill is endorsed by the American Economic Liberties Project, Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform, National Farmers Union, Farm Aid, National Family Farm Coalition, RAFI, and Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.
