These days, it’s unusual to find agreement on anything in Washington. But in recent weeks, President Trump, the agriculture secretary, leading Democrats, and several farm organizations have all called out the harms of excess corporate power in agriculture. Is this all talk and posturing, or an opportunity to meaningfully address consolidation? A test for policymakers is the long overdue farm bill, where a package of concrete policies to address unfair corporate practices in agriculture markets could be included.
Senators from both parties recently focused their ire on the tightly controlled fertilizer sector, where prices are spiking tied to supply chain disruptions from the U.S. government’s war on Iran. When global fertilizer supply chains were disrupted due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, prices rose and the companies made a killing. A 2022 report by IATP and GRAIN found that nine of the biggest fertilizer companies saw their profits increase by over 400% over a two-year period. In March, the Financial Times reported that that U.S. fertilizer executives may be cashing in again on this latest global conflict.
Farm groups typically slow to criticize agribusiness, like the National Corn Growers Association and the Farm Bureau, have called for the Trump administration to act on fertilizer prices. In March, the Department of Justice reportedly was investigating fertilizer companies for price fixing.
Before fertilizers, both parties were focused on the beef industry. The Biden administration issued an executive order on competition directing the USDA to investigate the meat industry, provide stronger protections for contract poultry growers, and tighten requirements for Product-of-USA labeling for beef. The Trump administration revoked that Biden-era executive order — but then in December, President Trump issued a new executive order directing the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate anticompetitive behavior in the food system and whether foreign food companies are increasing food prices. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told the Farm Bureau in January, "We will determine if any anticompetitive behavior, especially those by foreign-controlled companies, increases the cost of living for Americans," reported by Progressive Farmer.
In March, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a bill to limit meatpackers from processing more than one type of meat, setting limits on national and regional concentration levels for beef.
It’s not just fertilizer and beef. Poultry companies have been under fire for unfair contracts. The Biden administration strengthened rules to protect farmers from unfair contracts, but the USDA announced this month that it would delay those stronger protections. And Congress and states have introduced bills to protect farmers’ right to repair their own farm equipment.
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The long-delayed farm bill could be an effective vehicle to address unfair corporate behavior. In fact, when farm bill discussions began several years ago, the National Farmers Union called for the inclusion of a Competition Title to restore fairness in agriculture markets.
Several competition-focused policy proposals already have bipartisan support, including:
- The American Beef Labeling Act, which would require the big beef companies to label where animals were born, raised and slaughtered.
- The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act which strengthens USDA capacity and enforcement of antitrust laws.
- The Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act requiring greater transparency and accountability to mandated commodity check-off programs, where farmers’ money is often used to support big agribusiness interests.
Other proposals would place a moratorium on new agribusiness and food industry mergers and review past mergers to examine whether those benefited farmers, and provide tools to strengthen enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
The 2026 Farm Bill emerging from House Agriculture Committee ignores the rising competition crisis facing food and farming — but a House floor vote on the farm bill is still unscheduled, and the Senate has yet to start its farm bill process. The window for inserting competition-focused policies is still open.
Corporate concentration affects farmers’ input and equipment costs, and the prices they receive. Recent actions by the Trump administration, such as erratic tariff policies and the war in Iran, are further squeezing farmers. A recent farmer survey found that nearly half of respondents would spend their coming bridge payments to pay down debt.
The largely status quo farm bill emerging from the House Agriculture Committee missed the mark on many fronts. Bolder action is needed, and that should include a competition-focused package of policies focused on fairness. Is all the talk about excess corporate power just political posturing? We’ll find out soon.
Ben Lilliston is the director of rural strategies and climate change at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy where he writes about the intersections of climate, trade, and farm policy. He works with Midwest, national and international partners to build a policy framework for a just transition for farmers and rural communities in responding to the climate crisis.