Undercover at CattleCon: Ranchers & Insiders Expose How Tyson, JBS, Cargill, & National Beef Secretly Control America's Beef Market.

The OMG team did a deep dive, going undercover at CattleCon 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. We spoke with beef industry insiders and ranchers about the top four companies, Tyson, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef, which dominate U.S. beef processing.

These four companies process the majority of U.S. beef. Over time, dozens of smaller processors merged into four major companies now known as the “Big Four.”

“They [Big Four] are buying like all the companies in the United States… so they don’t have competition.”

“They [Big Four] can knock you out of this industry in two seconds.”

“They [Big Four] closed all the markets — all the markets are theirs in Brazil and now in the U.S.”

In November 2025, President Trump tweeted that cattle prices were falling while boxed beef prices kept rising, calling it “fishy.” With the Department of Justice urging action over ...