The Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act targets consolidation in the U.S. beef industry by requiring the Federal Trade Commission to force large meatpacking companies to divest (sell off) facilities when market concentration becomes excessive, such as when the four largest firms control more than 50 percent of the market or any single company controls 30 percent or more. The bill specifically requires foreign-owned meatpacking companies, including JBS and Smithfield, to divest their U.S. operations within 120 days, and it prevents companies from giving any single feedlot more than 10 percent of their annual cattle purchases. Enforcement mechanisms include civil penalties of up to 10 percent of a violator's revenue, the ability for harmed feedlots to sue for triple damages, and a requirement that the FTC issue detailed rules within 90 days, though the law's core requirements take effect automatically if the agency misses this deadline. Any penalties collected must be reinvested to promote competition and support new independent competitors in the beef market.
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