The White House announced on Monday that it would be investing $1 billion in American Rescue Plan funding in independent meat and poultry producers. The Biden administration hopes to spur competition to lower meat prices and reduce the considerable market shares major meat producers currently hold.
"The Action Plan includes four core strategies for creating a more competitive, fair, resilient meat and poultry sector, with better earnings for producers and more choices and affordable prices for consumers," the White House wrote in a press release. "The Action Plan includes four core strategies for creating a more competitive, fair, resilient meat and poultry sector, with better earnings for producers and more choices and affordable prices for consumers."
In addition to providing relief to beleaguered independent processors, the administration is hoping to invest in new facilities and raise working conditions at processing plants. Hundreds of millions of funding have been earmarked for the construction of new processing facilities, while plans are in place to "issue new, stronger rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act-the law designed to combat abuses by the meatpackers and processors."
The Department of Justice and USDA announced a joint initiative as part of the Biden administration's recovery plan. The initiative will create more avenues for farmers and independent processors to report anti-competitive behavior.
Meat and poultry production has been marred by rampant infections from the onset of the pandemic, with major producers such as Tyson (NYSE: TSN) facing intense scrutiny over workplace safety. Rampant infections, demand fluctuations, and ongoing shortages of available workers have resulted in skyrocketing meat prices for much of the two years of the pandemic.
Rising meat prices have left a deep impression on businesses. Many restaurant menus have been slimmed down to accommodate price and supply issues. Consumers, meanwhile, are finding many supermarket coolers thin on selection and increasingly outrageous in price.