The US is committed to $ 500 million by Reuters to increase its meat processing capacity

By Tom Polansek

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. government will invest at least $ 500 million to expand its capacity to process beef, pork and poultry, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Friday as consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic suffered meat purchase restrictions.

Money from a $ 1.9 trillion pandemic mitigation package approved in March will be given to meat processors to make the supply chain in grants and loans more resilient and increase competition in the sector, Vilsack said at a news conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order ordering the U.S. Department of Agriculture to promote “abusive practices of certain meat processors” and promote greater competition in the U.S. economy.

Farmers say the transformation company that buys the cattle is too few to turn them into cows, as farmers are sometimes forced to accept the offer they receive for animals and only one.

Farmers sell cattle to make a profit, even though meat companies sell profits to consumers of beef, Vilsack said.

“It seems to me that the fair profit should go both ways,” he added.

The meat packaging sector was examined when the COVID-19 pandemic began when workers were temporarily closed after slaughterhouses became ill.

When large meat plants are shut down, meat supplies are tightened, while farmers are stuck with cattle that would otherwise die. This means that the price of cattle generally falls and the price of meat in supermarkets rises.

A cyber attack against the arm of a Brazilian meat packer JBS SA (OTC 🙂 The closure of U.S. beef plants last month highlighted concerns about the sector’s concentration.

Biden’s order directs the USDA to consider new rules to make it easier for farmers to bring and win legal claims against large processors.

The USDA said in June that it would follow three rules 100 years ago to protect farmers from unfair trade practices to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act.

The North American Meat Institute, which represents the meat company, said Friday it would “open Biden’s orders to court.”

“Government intervention in the market will increase the cost of food for consumers, at a time when many are still suffering the economic consequences of the pandemic,” said Julie Anna Potts, president of the Meat Institute.