Page 10 - Sep302021

ANTITRUST LAWSUIT AGAINST PACKERS TO The Midwest Cattleman · September 30, 2021 · P10
MOVE FORWARD CLIMATE GOAL sure and document those ef-
By Greg Henderson forts.”
continued from page 3
America’s largest beef These goals are the culmi-
packers, JBS SA, Tyson Foods producer profitability and nation of a grassroots, ranch-
Inc., Cargill Inc., and Nation- economic sustainability by er-led process. The Sustain-
al Beef Packing Co. must face 2025. ability Goals Task Force was
antitrust litigation over an •Enhance trust in cat- formed in 2021 to evaluate
alleged industrywide scheme tle producers as responsible the current state of U.S. beef
to widen the “meat margin” stewards of their animals cattle sustainability, deter-
between the cost of live cat- and resources by expanding mine which improvements
tle and the price of processed packers conspired to depress educational opportunities in are most critical and help
beef, a federal judge in Minne- the price of fed cattle they pur- animal care and handling share the story of progress.
apolis ruled recently. chased from American ranch- programs to further improve Members of this working
Judge John R. Tunheim de- ers, thereby inflating their animal well-being. group — cattle farmers and
nied the defendants' motion own margins and profits. •Continuously improve ranchers from across the
to dismiss the class-action The class action lawsuit our industry’s workforce United States — led the pro-
antitrust suit filed in April seeks to recover the losses safety and well-being. cess and made all decisions,
2019 by R-CALF USA. The suffered by two classes be- “Cattlemen and women including setting the sus-
case may move forward in the lieved harmed by the packing have demonstrated their tainability goals.
U.S. District Court for the Dis- companies’ alleged conduct. commitment to sustainabili- “Sustainability is, and will
trict of Minnesota, where the The first class includes cattle ty for generations. They work continue to be, an incredibly
four meatpackers are accused producers who sold fed cattle tirelessly to protect the land, important part of what we
of forcing the cost of cattle to any one of the firms from water and air resources in do, and I’m proud that my
down, and the price of beef January 2015 to the present. their care. Through count- fellow leaders across the cat-
up, through cartel tactics like The second class consists of less improvements in genet- tle industry have taken these
coordinated procurement and traders who transacted live ics, grazing management, important steps,” Smith
“slaughter restraint.” cattle futures or options con- manure handling and the said. “As our country and the
The lawsuit alleges the four tracts on the Chicago Mer- adoption of many other tech- world examine risks asso-
packers violated the Sherman cantile Exchange (CME) from nologies, this is just the next ciated with climate change
Antitrust Act of 1890 by en- January 2015 to the present. step on our industry’s path,” and other sustainability
gaging in a price-fixing con- The complaint, which plain- said Marty Smith, a Florida challenges, our commitment
spiracy, and alleges the pack- tiffs claim is supported by cattleman and NCBA past to sustainability positions us
ers violated the Packers and witness accounts, including a president. “Producers de- to play an even bigger role in
Stockyards Act as well as the former employee of one of the serve recognition for their mitigating these risks in the
Commodity Exchange Act. packers, trade records, and use of cutting-edge practices future.”
Tunheim’s order allows the economic evidence, alleges and technologies that mini- To learn more about the
antitrust case to proceed to that the packers conspired to mize environmental impact. cattle industry’s sustain-
discovery so Plaintiffs may artificially depress fed cattle By setting goals, we’re pub- ability goals, go to ncba.org/
test their claims. prices through various means. licly committing to continu- sustainability.
The suit alleges that from ous improvement and setting NCBA
at least January 1, 2015, Drovers targets that allow us to mea-
through the present, the four

HOURS OF SERVICE WAIVERS EXTENDED LIFE As one of my classmates and
FOR LIVESTOCK HAULERS continued from page 5 I, pulled up the class of 1970,
By Jennifer Shike proudly on their wall of fame. displayed in high-tech, digi-
The Federal Motor Carri- then require 10 consecutive Sadly, I didn’t find any that tized and colorized format, I
er Safety Administration ap- hours of rest. were older than the 1980s. muttered, “I wonder where
proved an extension of the ex- "When transporting live- Later that day, I ran into the original is?”
“Probably in a storage clos-
emption from hours-of-service stock, there is a real need for the current Ag teacher and
(HOS) requirements for live- further flexibility beyond the asked him about trophies et, somewhere,” he replied.
As the day came to a close,
stock haulers through the end current hours-of-service. Un- and plaques from the sixties
of November. like drivers moving consum- and seventies. “Well, we don’t and everyone started saying
their good-byes, my old friend
The announcement made er goods, livestock haulers have room for all of them,” he
on Aug. 31 will allow livestock cannot simply idle or unload replied, “but we never throw from the first-grade class of
1958, said, “Well, I hope to
haulers flexibility to promote their trucks when drive time anything away. They’re prob-
the well-being of livestock hours run out without jeopar- ably in the storage closet.” see you, right here, for our
60th reunion, in nine years.”
during hauls, and to keep gro- dizing animal health and wel- Once upon a time, the
“I hope to be here, as
cery stores stocked, the Na- fare," NCBA said in a release. group pictures of every grad- well.” I replied. “If, by some
tional Cattlemen's Beef Associ- AgDay uating class, hung some-
ation (NCBA) said in a release. where in the hallways. Now, chance you’re here, and I’m
not around, just start looking
Livestock haulers have been there is a giant screen TV
operating under an HOS ex- that shines continuous- around the building. I’ll prob-
ably be in a storage closet,
emption since the beginning of ly, near the entrance of the
the COVID-19 pandemic and building, that can (if you somewhere.”
maintaining a strong safety know how to work it) instant-
record. ly pull up those group photo-
Current HOS rules allow graphs, without walking all
for 11 hours of drive time, 14 the hallways in the school.
hours of on-duty time, and