By Leah Douglas

(Reuters) – The National Farmers Union, the nation’s second-largest farm group, said on Wednesday it is launching a campaign to expose the negative effects of consolidation in the agriculture industry on family farms and rural towns.

It said the campaign will involve lobbying and public relations. This is in an attempt to pressure Washington to end monopolistic behavior within the sector. Legislators propose legislation that would bring greater transparency and price transparency to heavily consolidated agricultural markets.

Critics have criticized meat companies for having monopolistic market power. This has enabled them to purchase low-priced products from smaller farm suppliers and make huge profits on the wholesale market.

The Department of Justice is conducting an investigation into alleged price-fixing by big meat companies like Koch Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride, which has resulted in several indictments.

Rob Larew of NFU was optimistic that the Biden government would take action.

“We have a president who is committed to taking on the challenge of fighting consolidation in agriculture,” Larew said at a press conference launching the campaign.

The event was attended by Jon Tester, a Republican Montana senator and Keith Ellison, the Democratic Minnesota Attorney General.

According to President Joe Biden’s July executive order, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was directed by the president to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act. This law, which regulates meat industry competition for over 100 years, is now more effective.

The White House also recently attributed higher meat prices to “a lack of competition.”

The North American Meat Institute, which represents packers who control 95% of U.S. meat processing, denies that packer concentration is related to rising meat prices.