OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Meatpacking giant JBS has agreed to a $52.5 million settlement in a beef price-fixing lawsuit that some say supports their concerns about how the lack of competition in the industry affects prices.

Colorado-based JBS didn’t admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement and a spokeswoman said the company will continue to defend itself.

The giant beef processors have argued that supply and demand factors, not anticompetitive behavior, drive the price of beef and the amount ranchers receive for cattle, but the industry’s practices have been questioned by the White House and Congress. And the Justice Department has been investigating possible price fixing in the industry at least since 2020.