cattle markets

Last month Walmart announced plans to open a plant in Olathe, Kansas, that will turn large cuts of beef into meatcase-ready steaks, filets, and more for its Midwest stores. This $257 million investment is the latest in Walmart’s efforts to build its own Angus beef supply chain, which began in 2019 when it partnered with processors and a ranching company to open its first case-ready beef plant in Georgia and launch an in-house Angus brand across the Southeast.

While supporting more transparency in cattle prices, the American Farm Bureau Federation draws the line at requiring meatpackers to buy slaughter cattle on the cash market, said president Zippy Duvall. Mandatory purchases are a prime feature of the leading Senate bill for cattle market reform.

The USDA will propose three rules to give cattle, hog and poultry producers more leverage in dealing with meat processors in an increasingly concentrated industry, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The initiatives would make it easier for a producer to prove unfair treatment by a processor and would write a new regulation on use of so-called tournament systems by processors to determine pay for poultry farmers.

In a joint statement on Monday, six farm groups called on the Justice Department to investigate the highly consolidated meatpacking industry and urged the development of “new independent, local and regional packers.” Ranch and farm groups have complained repeatedly during the …