New Mexico’s attorney general has launched an investigation into the business practices of beef processing companies

New Mexico’s attorney general has launched an investigation into the business practices of beef processing companies to protect his state’s ranchers and cattle farmers that he contends are being harmed by “out of state corporations.”New Mexico Atty. Gen. Hector Balderas said he is concerned about what he described in a news release as the “unfair and anticompetitive practices” of such companies as Cargill Inc., JBS USA, Tyson Foods Inc. and the National Beef Packing Co., among others.The probe — believed to be the first of its kind filed by a state attorney general — accuses the “mega meatpacking” companies of harming New Mexican families by “reaping record profits” at the expense of local residents who are seeing their paychecks shrink and meat prices rise.The state has about 7,000 “cattle farms,” according to the release, which also announced a challenge of any federal statutes or entities that Balderas said illegally or unfairly threatens New Mexico’s local farming and ranching communities.Representatives from the four companies targeted in the release were unavailable to comment when contacted by Meatingplace.