990851 IBP Says USDA Drops Buying Practices ComplaintAugust 19, 1999Chicago - IBP Inc. said the U.S. Department of Agriculture had dropped all aspects of a four-year complaint over the company's cattle buying practices in Kansas. In August, 1995, USDA charged IBP with giving "undue preference" to a small group of feedlots in Kansas referred to as the Beef Marketing Group. "This is not only a victory for our company but for everyone in the industry who supports efforts for value-based marketing," said IBP spokesman Gary Mickelson. The marketing arrangement, in place since 1994, allowed IBP to ensure a steady supply of cattle from seven feedlots for the Emporia, Kansas, beef plant, Mickelson said. "On some BMG cattle a producer could refuse our initial offer and seek a higher bid from a competing packer. However, we then had an opportunity to match that bid," Mickelson said. The case ultimately landed in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, which last week reversed a USDA ruling saying IBP should discontinue its right of first refusal on BMG cattle. "The bottom line is there was no finding of fault against the company despite the allegations by USDA," Mickelson said. "Packers and livestock producers should have the freedom to market livestock the way they choose," he said.
|
