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Tyson Foods Inc., Smithfield Foods Inc. and other large meatpackers would be barred from buying animals from each other and limits would be set on their exclusive contracts with livestock suppliers under a rule proposed by the government to address antitrust concerns.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the proposal “represents an aggressive rule-making effort.” Producers “should not be treated less favorably because they’re small,” he said Friday in a conference call with reporters.
The rule addresses longstanding concerns about competition in the livestock industry that have been discussed at a series of hearings by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Justice Department, the USDA said in e-mailed statement. Bloomberg News
