Stephen Koontz probably didn't make any new friends, but he sure may have influenced a few people.Koontz, an agricultural economist at Colorado State University, teamed with Clem Ward, a counterpart at Oklahoma State University, to study the impact of consolidation in the meatpacking industry and its effect on cattle pricing. For years, there have been those who would swear on their deathbed that the big meatpackers are responsible for keeping cattle prices down.