Packers and Stockyards

Introduction of the Butcher Block Act in the House of Representatives last week received a warm welcome from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. The legislation would establish a stand-alone loan program through the Department of Agriculture to help processors expand capacity, improve marketing options for cattle producers and encourage competitive markets and pricing for live cattle. The

The USDA says it’s working on a trio of proposed rules to support enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act. How could these proposals impact the farming community? “First, USDA is proposing a new rule that will provide greater clarity to strengthen the enforcement of unfair and deceptive practices, undue preferences, and unjust prejudices," said American Farm Bureau Federation economist

Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley joined fellow Republican Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, in introducing legislation on meatpacking. The bill, the Meat Packing Special Investigator Act, would address the "anti-competitive" practices in the meat and poultry industries that threaten the nation’s food supply and national security. The ...

A new report unveiled by the American Farm Bureau Federation provides an in-depth examination of the causes and price implications resulting from extreme market volatility in the cattle industry. It also sets the stage to explore policy solutions ...

On Wednesday, the USDA released a report on its ongoing boxed beef and fed cattle price spread investigation. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the closure of the Tyson beef packing plant following a fire at the facility in Holcomb, Kansas, and the COVID-19 pandemic, “clearly disrupted the markets and processing systems responsible for the production and sale of U.S. be ...

A bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives is urging the USDA to provide findings of its beef pricing investigation as soon as possible. Following the announcement of the USDA's Packers and Stockyard Division investigation in August of 2019 ...

On Wednesday, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the USDA will look into allegations of price manipulation against the Packers and Stockyards. Perdue announced the investigation after mounting pressure from Congressional members that felt producers were not receiving a fair pay for their cows ...

On Social Media Wednesday, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the USDA will investigate the large margin increases for meatpackers during the coronavirus outbreak. The Twitter announcement of the probe came after several members of Congress called for an investigation ...

As the USDA’s probe into price-fixing allegations in the beef industry continues, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue would like some extra tools to deal with potential price manipulation across the industry. Perdue spoke during a Senate Appropriations Agriculture-FDA Subcommittee hearing last week. He t ...

Late last week, the United States Cattlemen’s Association sent letters to the USDA and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.  The USCA is requesting each department to bring together cattle market participants and stakeholders to discuss concerns related to price transparency and true price discovery.  The lett...