990868 USDA Team Monitoring Missouri Livestock Price LawAugust 28, 1999Washington - The U.S. Agriculture Department said it is sending “rapid response teams” to Missouri to meet with producers after the state enacts new livestock price reporting regulations this weekend. The department said it was sending the workers in early September to respond to concerns from livestock producers that packers will violate U.S. rules governing animal purchases when the law, which requires packers to publicly report the prices they pay for animals, is enacted. The USDA sent teams to South Dakota in July after a similar law was enacted in that state. “Any indication that Missouri producers are being treated illegally will be promptly and vigorously investigated,” said USDA undersecretary Mike Dunn in a statement. “Our teams will be out there, on the ground, talking to producers, to help us determine if violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act are taking place.” The American Meat Institute, the Missouri Livestock Marketing Association, Missouri Cattlemen's Association and Missouri's two largest feedlots Tuesday filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking a declaration that the livestock price provisions of Missouri's bill were unconstitutional. The South Dakota law was also challenged by AMI and a federal judge declared the price matching components of the law unconstitutional. Other Midwestern states have enacted price reporting laws this year, prompting some lawmakers to step up their push for nationwide standards. A Senate panel late last month voted to require packers to report what they pay for cattle and hogs. Ranchers have lobbied for the price reporting law, saying that as the number of companies in the meatpacking industry dwindles, they need more information to make sure they are receiving a competitive price for their animals. IBP Inc., ConAgra Inc., Cargill Inc. unit Excel, and Farmland National Beef control about 80% of the U.S. beef market. The same companies plus Smithfield Foods Inc. also control more than half of the U.S. pork market. Meatpackers have reluctantly agreed to work with lawmakers in response to the deluge of state regulations.
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