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Ranchers.net

Missouri’s state attorney general has asked the federal government to stop, or modify, Brazilian company JBS S-A’s acquisition of three of this country’s largest beef packing companies. John Fougere, spokesman for Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, says Nixon sent a letter Tuesday to the U.S. Attorney General, "He's urging the U.S. Department of Justice to thoroughly examine this proposed acquisition. And, he's also asking Attorney General (Michael) Mukasey to take appropriate steps to block or mitigate the inevitable anti-competitive effects of this consolidation."

He says the proposed acquistion by JBS S-A of National Beef and Smithfield Beef, as well as the Five Rivers feedlot operation, would be detrimental and create vertical integration, similar to what’s happened in the pork industry, "You know, when you have a company that's owning the same cattle that it slaughters, the Attorney General (Nixon) has said, what would happen is - that company would pay less for live cattle from Missouri beef producers and then be able to charge more for the beef - which would harm both producers and consumers."

Fougere says this merger would harm all beef producers, including those in Missouri, one of the largest beef producing states, "When you talk about great brand names, Missouri Beef has to be at the top of the list. It's a prized commodity all over the world, and that's thanks to the hard work of thousands of Missouri farm families and ranchers."

JBS recently purchased Swift & Company, one of the other largest packing companies in the U.S.
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