Small cattle feeders impacted by JBS practices

I am a small, independent cattle feeder living in Nebraska. I am among the feeders impacted by JBS’ unfair, discriminatory business practices.

As you probably know, unlike large feeders, small feeders are forced to sell over 100,000 head of cattle a week in the carcass. According to my calculations this practice costs me $30 per head or more. This translates to an overall cost to feeders forced to sell in the carcass of as much as $3,000,000 per week. This is before JBS has inaccurately calculated the yield as found by AMS in the following release:

“Beginning sometime prior to December 14, 2017, and continuing until on or about March 31, 2018, JBS Swift failed to properly record the weights, grades, and prices of carcasses accurately on accountings issued to sellers. The practice of failing to maintain the identify of beef carcasses purchased on a carcass weight basis at its Grand Island beef plant resulted in paying livestock sellers on inaccurate hot carcass weights and prices and is in violation of section of the Act and regulations.”

AMS has only fined JBS $50,000 for what is a much greater loss to cattle producers. With USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue’s recent elimination of the Grain, Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration that was tasked with Packers and Stockyards Act enforcement, understaffed and under-resourced enforcers are ill-equipped to take on a global Goliath such as JBS. Further, Perdue’s withdrawal of the Farmer Fair Practices Rules leaves cattle producers with no recourse to recover their losses.

I hope that you will help bring attention to this situation, which is destroying my business and the businesses of all other small producers.

—Steve Krajicek, Lincoln, Nebraska.