The White House says consolidation in meat processing is leading to higher prices in the grocery store.

But, Oklahoma State Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel says consolidation concerns are not new.  

“Producers have been talking about packer concentration and market power for over 100 years,” he says. “The structure of the industry has not changed appreciably in the last 30 years so nothing is really different now in that respect.”

He tells Brownfield the higher prices are “symptoms” of other issues in the industry.

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