The Mouse That Roared?

A federal jury has awarded Alabama and national cattle farmers $1.28 billion dollars in damages after concluding that Tyson Fresh Meats manipulated contracts to old down the prices it paid the producers for their beef.

During the four-week trial in Montgomery, the ranchers argued that the consolidation of the industry had helped Tyson win enough control of the market to manipulate prices and help undermine small and independent ranchers.

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the industry's leading trade group, declined to support the ranchers in their suit. Kendal Frazier, the association's vice president for communication, said that his members supported instead a study of meat marketing systems. "We know there are concerns about changes going on in our industry," Mr. Frazier said, "but we haven't taken a position on the case."

"This is an industry fight between the big packers and the independent ranchers," said Joe Whatley, of the Birmingham, Ala., firm of Whatley, Drake. "If we don't stop the kinds of practices Tysons has been engaged in, we're going to lose the small, independent producer."

Posted by Jim Langcuster at February 18, 2004 08:18 AM | TrackBack