USDA to probe beef market after Tyson Foods slaughterhouse fire

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

BUSINESS NEWS AUGUST 28, 2019 / 3:05 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

USDA to probe beef market after Tyson Foods slaughterhouse fire

Tom Polansek
3 MIN READ

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue ordered an investigation into widening prices between cattle and beef on Wednesday after a recent fire at a Tyson Foods Inc (TSN.N) slaughterhouse in Holcomb, Kansas, shut the plant.

Cattle prices have tanked because the fire temporarily eliminated a key buyer of livestock. Farmers have worried that meat packers such as Tyson, Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] and JBS USA [JBS.UL] would take advantage of the situation by dropping their offering prices.

At the same time, beef prices climbed as buyers for restaurants, food service companies and grocery chains scrambled for meat.

Profit margins for the packers are above $400 per head of cattle slaughtered, up from around $150 before the fire and well above the previous record of $308, according to Denver-based livestock marketing advisory service HedgersEdge.com.

The USDA will investigate whether there is evidence of price manipulation, collusion or other unfair practices, according to a statement.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tyson-foods-fire-usda/usda-to-probe-beef-market-after-tyson-foods-slaughterhouse-fire-idUSKCN1VI2CR

[Kali]

1. there are good folks at USDA

but with the slime at the head of the govt... I don't expect anything good for producers to come out of it.

[Farmer-Rick]

2. When the price of farm products go up, you can bet

It ain't the farmer getting the raise. That's why I went to retail sales of my own cuts. The packers were ripping off the farmers.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Fake market shortages.

These suckers learned well from the likes of the Koch Brothers creating Fake Fuel shortages.