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The U.S. Department of Agriculture entered into a stipulation agreement with Keith Robertson of Bourbon, Mo., on July 25, 2024, for alleged violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Under the terms of the stipulation agreement, Robertson waived his right to a hearing and paid a penalty of $1,250.
A USDA Agricultural Marketing Service investigation revealed that between Jan. 16 and Feb. 18, 2023, Robertson failed to pay timely on 10 livestock purchases totaling $228,636. Payments were made from three to five days late.
The P&S Act authorizes the secretary of agriculture to initiate actions to seek various sanctions, including orders to cease and desist from continuing violations, suspensions of registrations where applicable and other remedies as authorized and appropriate under the act.
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.
MBA Beef LLC dba Interstate Regional Stockyards
The U.S. Department of Agriculture entered into a stipulation agreement with Interstate Regional Stockyards of Cuba, Mo., on June 26, 2024, for alleged violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Under the terms of the stipulation agreement, Interstate Regional Stockyards waived its right to a hearing and paid a penalty of $7,500.
An investigation by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service revealed that Interstate Regional Stockyards had custodial account shortages of over $1.46 million on July 31, 2023; over $1.21 million on Aug. 31, 2023, and over $1.66 million on Sept. 30, 2023. The custodial account shortages were partly due to the market failing to reimburse the custodial account for uncollected receivables by the close of the seventh day following the livestock sale.
A custodial account is a trust account designated for shippers’ proceeds from selling livestock in trust for sellers. Failure to reimburse the custodial account timely violates the Packers and Stockyards Act and regulations.
For further information about the Packers and Stockyards Act, contact Amy Blechinger, Packers and Stockyards Division, at 202-720-7051 or Amy.R.Blechinger@usda.gov.
Source: USDA's AMS
