News
“Status quo” for DOJ response into nation’s largest meat packers
The cattle industry is itching for answers from the Department of Justice in the investigation into the U.S.’s largest meat packers.
Larry Dybdal raises purebred Charolais cattle in Northeast Nebraska. “The silence is probably the worst enemy. I mean there are things going on behind the scenes that producers do not realize and I don’t know what we’re going to be looking forward to in the future from that.”
He tells Brownfield he’s also concerned that the results could adversely impact how they sell their cattle throughout the beef supply chain.
Ashley Kohls is the Vice President of Government Affairs with the Nebraska Cattlemen and says there isn’t an indication when the investigation will be finished. “We know kind of the status of it because when they are talking to witnesses or people and are trying to ask a lot of questions and do deep dives. They want to make sure that doesn’t stay public so people are forthcoming and sharing information with them so there is an appreciation for that.”
Nebraska Cattlemen was the first group to ask for a federal investigation into Tyson Foods, JBS USA, Cargill and National Beef in the April of 2020.
Both Dybdal and Kohls spoke with Brownfield during the 2021 Nebraska Cattlemen’s Convention in Kearney.
