09/01/2026
What if there are just as few companies controlling cattle genetics as there are controlling the packing industry? Most people know that an oligopoly of four major packers dominates the beef industry. They argue that it gives those companies too much influence over prices and the direction of the industry.
But what if an even greater concentration of power has already happened much earlier in the supply chain?
While producers recognize many of the major genetic companies throughout North and South America by different names, much of that apparent competition disappears once you follow the ownership. The number of companies controlling cattle genetics throughout North and South America is about the same as, or perhaps even fewer than, the number of companies controlling the packing industry. Those companies determine which bulls are collected, which genetics receive the largest marketing budgets, what research gets funded in the name of "improving the industry," and what educational material reaches producers.
If four companies controlling the packing industry are considered dangerous, what should we think about only a handful of companies having that much influence over the genetics that shape the future cow herd?
Maybe the greatest control over the cattle industry doesn't begin at the packing plant.
Maybe it begins with deciding which bulls the world gets to see.
Photo Credit: Hailey Edwards of Granite Mountain Breeding Services
