Enzi, Barrasso Call For Meat Processing ‘Regulatory Relief’
Both US Senators from Wyoming joined their colleagues in calling for "regulatory relief" in the meatpacking industry.
Senators John Barrasso and Mike Enzi joined five other senators in the letter to US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue following an executive order supporting economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to that letter, four beef processing companies control 80% of the market and use high-capacity facilities to perform their work. When those facilities are hit by COVID-19 outbreaks, ranchers are unable to get their livestock to markets.
"These pitfalls can be avoided in the future if we take action today to promote a diversified food supply chain," the letter says. "Regulations must be streamlined to remove barriers impeding small and medium-sized meat processors."