The U.S. Department of Agriculture Tuesday released a report detailing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s investigation into cattle markets.
Within the report, “Boxed Beef and Fed Cattle Price Spread Investigation”, the USDA said findings thus far do not preclude the possibility that individual entities or groups of entities violated the Packers and Stockyards Act during the aftermath of the Tyson Holcomb fire and the COVID-19 pandemic. They also noted that the investigation into potential violations under the Packers and Stockyards Act is continuing.
In August 2019 USDA announced its intent to investigate the economic impact to the cattle market stemming from the loss of beef processing capacity after the fire at the Holcomb, Kansas, slaughter facility. In April of this year, USDA expanded the scope of that investigation to include the impact of the COVID19- related industry-wide plant slowdowns.
NCBA responded to the release with their Vice President of Government Affairs, Ehtan Lane, saying, “We are pleased that USDA has produced a report into the market dynamics impacting cattle producers across the country. Since NCBA initially requested this investigation, this issue has remained a central topic of conversation for NCBA, our state affiliates, and cattle producers throughout the country. While we are collectively still awaiting the results of the Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into these issues, the information in this report will be very helpful and timely to the cattle industry’s robust discussion of cattle markets and price discovery during our Summer Business Meeting in Denver next week.”
You can find the full report here.
