Packers and Stockyards

Bipartisan legislation has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate to address anticompetitive markets and vertical consolidation in the meatpacking industry.  The “Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2025 would create the “Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters” within the Packers & Stockyards Division at USDA.  The Office of the Special Inv...

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is non-committal on supporting a renewed push in Congress for livestock marketing reforms.  Vilsack was careful in recent comments to not to overstep the general support he voiced last year for the Grassley-Fisher bill to boost price discovery and beef industry competition.   “...

Senate Ag Republicans recently confronted USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack over soaring farm input costs, declining profits, overregulation, and the top issue on nearly everyone's mind: inflation. Vilsack insisted he’s doing everything he can to boost production and reduce fertilizer costs. ...

"Without the transparency of a robust cash market, I'm at a severe disadvantage when marketing my cattle," said cattle producer Shelly Ziesch. "We've got to do something because if we continue to do nothing we'll keep getting the same result," noted cattle producer Richy Ruffin ...

The bipartisan Amplifying Processing of Livestock in the United States Act, or A-PLUS Act, was introduced into the U.S. House last week. The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association said the proposal is a long-overdue idea that will, if enacted, help spur more processing capacity in the U.S. I ...

On Monday, the Biden Administration submitted to Congress the President’s budget for fiscal year 2023. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the budget "provides USDA with the tools needed to support a vibrant, revitalized, and prosperous rural America." ...

President Joe Biden and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack met with farmers and ranchers at the White House Monday to announce a meat supply chain action plan. The plan includes four core strategies for creating what the Administration calls a more competitive, fair, resilient meat and poultry sector, with better earnings for producers and more choices and affordable prices for consumers ... Read M

Part of President Biden's recent Executive Order, addressing competition in the marketplace, "we will follow through on the President's directive and begin the process of rule-making on the Packers and Stockyards Act," noted Agriculture Sectary, Tom Vilsack ...

On Friday, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order, which he said will promote competition in the United States. How might that order benefit the Ag sector? “The Executive Order essentially directs the Department of Agriculture to take some steps, which we are prepared to take.  One ...

According to livestock market economist Dr. Derrell Pee, feedlots are only a few weeks away from being current on fed cattle supplies. “In the near term, yes, I think we moved a lot of cattle. The marketing's in the last two Cattle on Feed reports have been very impressive. We r ...