The President of the Iowa Farm Bureau says he’s concerned the proposed merger of Smithfield Foods and I-B-P won’t get the scrutiny it deserves. Ed Wiederstein says an unrestricted merger could create problems in Iowa.He says there’s a real cause of concern over the potential the merged company has to dominate the pork industry. Smithfield is the nation’s top pork producer and processor, while I-B-P is the leading beef processor. Wiederstein says the merger is particularly important to Iowa.as the companies play an important role in what’s called the Iowa and Southern Minnesota Market that determines the prices of hogs. Wiederstein and the Iowa Farm Bureau have sent a letter to the U-S Department of Justice asking for a full investigation of the merger. The president of Smithfield Foods says the merger could help offset the growing power of retailers in pork sales. Wiederstein says that could be true, but he says there’s a concern that producers may not see any increased benefit.If the merger is approved, Smithfield would control approximately 37-percent of the pork packing industry in the United States.
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