WASHINGTON, D.C. – The four largest American meat packers feed or hold
contracts on one-third of the cattle they slaughter – a far larger
portion than thought, according to a United States Department of
Agriculture report.
The updated figure for captive supply could heighten demands for
Congress to ban packer ownership of livestock. Last month, the Senate
voted for a ban as part of a new farm subsidy law. The version of the
bill passed by the House of Representatives has no such provision.
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Agriculture department officials said the four leading packers got 32.3
percent of their cattle from captive supplies in 1999, not the 25.2
percent indicated in annual reports to the Grain Inspection, Packers
and Stockyards Administration.
The difference was due to varying interpretations by packers of what to
include in the reports. “They were as concerned as we were” to assure
uniformity, said administrator JoAnn Waterfield.
Cargill Inc., Farmland Industries, ConAgra and Tyson Foods Inc. account
for 80 percent of beef and heifer slaughter.
Bill Bullard of the cattle producer group Ranchers-Cattlemen Action
Legal Fund, or R-CALF, said the higher figure for captive supply is
significant and probably growing larger still due to consolidation in
the livestock industry.
R-CALF supports a ban on packer ownership out of concern captive
supplies could be used to hold down cattle prices. Bullard said
R-CALF’s analysis of sales figures suggested that in some weeks 80
percent of the cattle slaughtered in some states came from captive
supplies.
USDA said it would revise reports to include clearer definitions,
double-check numbers and report captive supply information in greater
detail.
The new definition used in compiling the latest report would cover
livestock owned or fed by a packer more than 14 days before slaughter,
or livestock procured by a packer through a contract or marketing
agreement in place for more than 14 days or livestock otherwise
committed to a packer more than 14 days before slaughter.
Jay Pruitt of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said the report
“puts the ball in play” and would allow the industry to agree on a
definition of captive supply. NCBA opposed the Senate language to ban
packer ownership.
“We want producers to have freedom to market cattle in whatever form
they want to,” said Pruitt. “If they want to market cattle prior to
slaughter, there should not be any artificial restrictions.”
The American Meat Institute, a trade group for meatpackers and
processors, welcomed the idea of a uniform definition.
R-CALF and NCBA members were expected to discuss the report at annual
meetings in early February.
