An econometric model was used to evaluate the impact that the Smithfield / Packerland merger had on the price differential between Holstein feeder steers and non-dairy feeder steers in Kentucky. Weekly data were used from the Kentucky Livestock Database and the Livestock Marketing Information Center. An increase in the Holstein / non-dairy feeder steer spread of more than $3.00 per hundredweight was associated with the time period following the merger. While the possibility remains that unidentified factors contributed to the wider spread, the contention that the merger was the cause could not be rejected.