The Department
of Justice is looking more closely at the anti-competitive impact of JBS S.A.’s
acquisition of Smithfield Beef’s Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, according to our
investigations and several reports in financial trade publications. JBS
announced in March their intention to acquire Smithfield Beef Group and
National Beef Packing, purchases that would make JBS both the largest beef
packer and cattle feeder in the U.S.
Five Rivers Cattle Feeding, a joint venture between
Smithfield Beef and Continental Grain with the capacity to feed over 800,000
head of cattle, would come under the ownership of JBS if the transaction is approved.
In conversations with a variety of government agencies looking at the JBS
mergers, the ownership of Five Rivers by JBS has been called a “significant
area of inquiry.”
Our investigations also lead us to believe that the JBS
purchase of National Beef’s Dodge City and Liberal plants in Kansas combined
with the JBS Swift plant in Cactus, Texas, as well as the combination of
National Beef’s plant in Brawley, California, and Smithfield Beef’s plant in
Tolleson, Arizona, are points of concern for the Justice Department.
Thousands of people from across the U.S. have weighed in with the
Justice Department in opposition to the JBS - Smithfield Beef - National Beef
mergers. We encourage you to keep up the pressure by expressing your opposition
to the JBS mergers at http://www.cfra.org/JBS.
On June 30 the
Organic Trade Association filed a legal complaint against Ohio’s Department
of Agriculture challenging as unconstitutional an emergency rule seeking to
prevent milk labeling that tells consumers whether cows producing the milk were
treated with rBST, the synthetic growth hormone sold by Monsanto under the
brand name Prosilac®.
“The Organic Trade Association firmly believes that
consumers have a right to know, and want to know, about the products they
purchase, and organic farmers and processors have a right to communicate with
their consumers regarding federally regulated organic production practices,”
said Caren Wilcox, the Organic Trade Association’s Executive Director.
USDA’s National Organic Standards prohibit the use of
hormones to promote growth or increase production in organic milk production.
Contact: John Crabtree, johnc@cfra.org or 402.687.2103 x 1010 for
more information.
Dakota Rural Action has been a close ally of the Center for Rural Affairs since the South Dakota grassroots organization was established. In particular, Dakota Rural Action is a key ally in South Dakota on livestock market reforms, beginning farmer and rancher initiatives and on anti-corporate farming laws. Visit them online today. 
