After JBS, the Brazilian meat company, settled a lawsuit over beef price-fixing, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association expressed dissatisfaction with the decision.

In a statement, JBS said it did not admit liability but that settling was in its best interest. It also said it will defend against beef price-fixing claims by other plaintiffs, Reuters reported.

“If there were any doubt about the shenanigans Big Packers play to line their pockets at the expense of consumers and independent producers, look no further than JBS’ $52.5 million settlement in price-fixing litigation,” Grassley said in a news release. “The other members of the Big Four packers continue to face similar allegations. Although the settlement is a spit in the ocean compared to JBS’ record profit throughout the pandemic, it validates what cattle producers have been telling me when they try to get a fair price in the marketplace. It’s time to put an end to these price fixing schemes once and for all. Congress must pass the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act to bring access and accountability to the meatpacking industry.

“Those who oppose efforts to improve market access for independent producers – especially national organizations who claim to back America’s farmers and ranchers – need to take a serious look at Big Packers’ anticompetitive tactics, and ask themselves whose interests they are really serving,” Grassley said.

Grassley is one of the authors of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, which is holding its annual meeting in Houston, said it finds the settlement “deeply disturbing.”

NCBA said that in August 2019, following a fire at the Tyson plant in Holcomb, Kan., it was the first national organization to request a government investigation of beef markets in 2019. “Now there are settlements occurring without Department of Justice having released findings or even providing cattle producers with an update on progress,” NCBA said.

“America’s cattle producers expect and deserve full transparency on any, and all, information related to the ongoing market investigations. NCBA encourages the government to finalize its investigation so we can fully understand any damage that may have been caused,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. “It is clear from this settlement that cattle producers still don’t have all the information they have demanded and is deserved. The DOJ has an obligation to finish their investigation. Cattle producers do not have years to wait for the government to determine whether there has been wrongdoing. We demand answers now.”