Washington -The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entered into a stipulation agreement with Fred Green (Green) of Fulton, Mo., on July 16, 2021, for violations of the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act. Under the terms of the stipulation agreement, Green waived its rights to a hearing and paid a $1,250 civil penalty.
An investigation by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) revealed that between April and July 2019, in four transactions, Green bought livestock out of his own consignment, for the purpose of increasing profits on transactions that were executed on a cost plus commission basis, to fill an order.
The P&S Act does not allow dealers to charge both a commission and increase the price of livestock when purchasing livestock for others. Doing so is an unfair trade practice and a violation of the P&S Act.
The P&S Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to assess civil penalties up to $29,270 per violation against any person after the notice and opportunity for hearing on the record. USDA may offer alleged violators the option of waiving their right to a hearing and enter into a stipulation agreement to quickly resolve alleged violations.
The P&S Act is a fair-trade practice and payment protection law that promotes fair and competitive marketing environments for the livestock, meat and poultry industries.
For further information about the Packers and Stockyards Act, contact Stuart Frank, Packers and Stockyards Division, at (202) 720-7051, or by email at Stuart.Frank@usda.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service
