Meat packers

A study from USDA's Economic Research Service shows the role meatpacking plants played in the spread of COVID-19. In what ERS describes as a working paper, the study outlined 49 U.S. nonmetro counties in which 20% or more of employment is in meatpacking, defined as meatpacking-dependent counties ...

A new effort from USDA to bring transparency to cattle pricing is getting a lukewarm response from the industry, and some criticism. R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said the problem is that large amounts of cattle taken out of the cash market that don't contribute to price discovery ...

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association led a letter supported by 37 affiliate state cattle associations, urging Congress to address critical areas of concern in the cattle and beef industries. They’re asking leaders of both the Senate and House Agriculture Committees to consider swift Congressional action in several areas, such as expanding beef processing capacity. They also ...

Over the weekend, one of the world’s largest meatpackers announced it had been hit by a cyber-attack. JBS announced Sunday some of the servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems were targeted. Scott Bennett, director of congressional relations with the American Farm Bureau Federation said the company responded immediately. ...

Earlier this week, the North American Meat Institute defended its members against allegations of wrongdoing in the cattle market. The response follows a closed-door meeting between livestock and farm groups focusing on ways to improve cattle market transparency and a letter from Republican lawmakers to the Department of Justice ...

Recently, senators Mike Rounds, Republican from South Dakota, and Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland regarding the state of the U.S. meatpacking industry. They asked him to enforce or examine America’s antitrust laws to restore fairness in the marketplace for cattle producers and are asking their colleagues in both the House and Senate to

Earlier this week, lawmakers from South Dakota led an effort urging the Department of Justice to continue its investigation into the nation’s four biggest meatpackers. Republican Senator John Thune and Republican Representative Dusty Johnson also requested that DOJ provide Congress with updates. The ...

Ask Colin Woodall, and he’ll tell you cattle producers are caught in a balancing act with the packers, as each side works on leveraging supply and demand. The CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said it boils down to cattle markets. “That’s ...

Over the past 18 months, the voices calling for changes in the packing industry have become louder and more numerous. Many livestock producer organizations say ranchers enjoy the profits or margins they should since there are only four major packing companies in the U ...

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, the recently introduced Cattle Market Transparency Act would bring much needed changes to cattle markets. AFBF Congressional Relations Director Scott Bennett said the events of 2020 highlighted the need for reform ...