The beef processing plant in Olathe, Kansas, marked a turning point for Walmart. But ranchers and agricultural experts warn the nation’s already stunted beef industry could be falling under more corporate control.

To Mike Schultz, Kansas ranchers are stuck in velvet handcuffs.

Walmart, the nation’s largest grocery retailer and private employer, recently expanded into the U.S. beef industry with its own processing plant in Olathe, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City. The opening of the Walmart-owned plant in July marked a turning point for the company and the nation’s cattle industry.

Schultz, a cattle rancher in Brewster, Kansas, — a state that accounts for roughly 4% of the nation’s cattle supply — said for now, local ranchers are likely to have better prices with Walmart bidding against o

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