SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Brett Kenzy believes the first step in fixing any problem is recognizing the problem first.
And with the beef industry, now that some consumers are now starting to feel the impact of a highly-concentrated beef processing market, the problem is getting recognized.
“It’s universally accepted now that we have a problem,” Kenzy told KELOLAND News. “We have to move forward on fixing it and I think we can.”
Kenzy, who runs a cattle operation in south-central South Dakota near Gregory, is the Region III Director for R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America), a lobbying organization for U.S. cattle and sheep producers.
More than a year ago when the start of the COVID-19 pandemic caused empty meat shelves at grocery stores, it led the Department of Justice to look into alleged price-fixing.
“That was our warning shot, that’s the first time our shelves went bare in my lifetime,” Kenzy said. “In America, we’ve become so spoiled that everything was just gonna be there.”
Two weeks ago, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order, ordering the United States Department of Agriculture and the Federal Trade Commission to look for ways to improve the food chain for producers.
Biden’s EO can be found on the White House’s website and it calls for new rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act, new…
