The Bedfellows, how the beef packing cartel is screwing everybody

[HDRider]

The National Cattleman's Beef Association, NCBA, is the nations largest cattle producer organization. They would be the perfect organization to bring attention to the screwing that the packers are giving everybody. They have lobbyists that could take it to lawmakers and enforcers. They have PR that could bring it to the public. But they don't because they also represent the cartel. What's amazing is that both lawsuits give the NCBA's annual convention, what they call CattleCon, as "opportunities for beef packing defendants to meet and collude." This convention is something that packers attend and where they are free to discuss just how exactly they can put the screws to the other attendees. I guess this gives a whole new meaning to the term CattleCon.

The real cattle con is the fact that cattle producers actually have to pay to promote beef packer products and also, help pay for these, "opportunities to collude," through the beef checkoff. The beef checkoff is a program where every time cattle sell, one dollar per head is taken out of the check. That money is supposed to be used to promote beef, which would be alright except now beef prices seem to have nothing to do with the price of cattle. The NCBA gets the majority of this checkoff money, and meetings of the Beef Checkoff program are also listed as an, opportunity to collude, because they are also attended by the beef packing cartel. So while the beef packing cartel is screwing everybody, the ones who are definitely getting the worst of it are the cattle producers. Ranchers are quite literally paying to give the cartel "opportunities to collude."

https://www.lonesomelands.com/new-blog/2020/1/15/the-bedfellows-how-the-beef-packing-cartel-is-screwing-everybody

 

[farmerjan]

SO TRUE.

 

[Travlr]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread because I had someone ask me if prices for beef will go up due to ICE deporting packing plant workers. I think it would be a natural place to get raided first. Just thought I'd put it out there to see what y'all think. And of course this could really effect the price of live cattle.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread because I had someone ask me if prices for beef will go up due to ICE deporting packing plant workers. I think it would be a natural place to get raided first. Just thought I'd put it out there to see what y'all think. And of course this could really effect the price of live cattle.

ICE raids on packing plants are nothing new.
It may slow down production at a certain location for a brief time but it won't have any lasting impact.

 

[Dave]

I think ICE has a lot of other low hanging fruit sites to raid long before raiding places where the illegals are actually working. Hotels in big cities where the government is paying all the bills would be a much better place to start. But I do remember ICE pulling into vegetable packing sheds 50 years ago. They pull into the parking lot and the back doors fly open and people go running out through the surrounding fields. It is nothing new.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I think ICE has a lot of other low hanging fruit sites to raid long before raiding places where the illegals are actually working. Hotels in big cities where the government is paying all the bills would be a much better place to start. But I do remember ICE pulling into vegetable packing sheds 50 years ago. They pull into the parking lot and the back doors fly open and people go running out through the surrounding fields. It is nothing new.

They raided Postvile, IA probably 6-8 yrs ago. There's a kosher packing plant there .

 

[mwj]

They raided Postvile, IA probably 6-8 yrs ago. There's a kosher packing plant there .

I think that kosher plant is a thing of the past for some time. Kosher beef slaughter has a lot of people other than immigration watching since it is all non stun.

 

[SBMF 2015]

I think that kosher plant is a thing of the past for some time. Kosher beef slaughter has a lot of people other than immigration watching since it is all non stun.

This place is still open as of last summer at least. I talked to the sale barn fat cattle buyer about it once. He just grinned. Said there is a Rabbi on the catwalk above the alley that leads to the knock box. He blesses the cattle before they go in the box and they qualify as Kosher. Right or wrong I don't know but I know they payed a ridicules premium for good, big, well finished cattle.
They couldn't get enough volume of the quality they needed so that buyer goes to a different sale barn now.

 

[mwj]

This place is still open as of last summer at least. I talked to the sale barn fat cattle buyer about it once. He just grinned. Said there is a Rabbi on the catwalk above the alley that leads to the knock box. He blesses the cattle before they go in the box and they qualify as Kosher. Right or wrong I don't know but I know they payed a ridicules premium for good, big, well finished cattle.
They couldn't get enough volume of the quality they needed so that buyer goes to a different sale barn now.

That could happen with halal slaughter but not kosher. To be kosher the Rabi has to make the cut to a fully aware animal. There would not be a knock box for Kosher as they are non stun.

 

[SBMF 2015]

That could happen with halal slaughter but not kosher. To be kosher the Rabi has to make the cut to a fully aware animal. There would not be a knock box for Kosher as they are non stun.

I'm just repeating what I was told by the buyer that works for the plant.
I know what you are saying, and that's the way I always thought it had to be.

Now if someone could explain to me how we get kosher dill pickles? I love those things!

 

[Travlr]

I'm just repeating what I was told by the buyer that works for the plant.
I know what you are saying, and that's the way I always thought it had to be.

Now if someone could explain to me how we get kosher dill pickles? I love those things!

They only use pickles cut from the vine with knives blessed by rabbis... (I have no idea)

 

[mwj]

Those pickles have rules but may be not slaughter rules. I was curious if my mind was bad so I checked on the time frame. The immigration raid was in May of 2008 and the company filed for bankruptcy in November of 2008.. The plant sold in 2009. They were killing 500 head a day when they were in operation.

 

[SBMF 2015]

Those pickles have rules but may be not slaughter rules. I was curious if my mind was bad so I checked on the time frame. The immigration raid was in May of 2008 and the company filed for bankruptcy in November of 2008.. The plant sold in 2009. They were killing 500 head a day when they were in operation.

Time flies. I couldn't remember for sure when it was.