A big gap between farm price and wholesale would support the idea that farmers could be competitive by cutting them out. Indeed, it sounds like more are because farmers (or feedlots) are creating new processors.
Alternatively, if huge processors are hyper efficient, then what is going on in Switzerland? Why could I buy local meat and milk that was half off the market, and even cheaper than the US from farms?
https://www.epi.org/blog/iowa-governor-signs-one-of-the-most...
> Last Friday, this concerted attack on child labor safeguards further expanded. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed an expansive bill enacting numerous changes to the state’s child labor laws, including:
> allowing employers to hire teens as young as 14 for previously prohibited hazardous jobs in industrial laundries or as young as 15 in light assembly work;
> allowing state agencies to waive restrictions on hazardous work for 16–17-year-olds in a long list of dangerous occupations, including demolition, roofing, excavation, and power-driven machine operation;
> extending hours to allow teens as young as 14 to work six-hour nightly shifts during the school year;
> allowing restaurants to have teens as young as 16 serve alcohol; and
> limiting state agencies’ ability to impose penalties for future employer violations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Switzerland#Agricul...
This follows from Swiss neutrality -- you have to protect your domestic food supply to ensure food security.
Local milk might be more expensive than imported in Switzerland, but if you compare the prices of 1 gal (3.785L) milk in NYC (USD 5.53/CHF 4.96) vs Zurich (USD 7.24/CHF 6.49), it's more expensive in Zurich.
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cou...