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Well-known member
Schumacher Loses Over $260,000 from Cattle Sales to Tyson;
Now Tyson Wants Schumacher's Home
Billings, Mont. – Herreid, S.D., rancher and cattle feeder Herman Schumacher has suffered losses exceeding $260,000 from the sale of three pens of cattle (984 head) sold to Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. (Tyson) since January 1, 2009, yet Schumacher's three pens of cattle were top performers. His 984 cattle gained an average of 459 pounds in just 136 days, representing an average daily gain of 3.37 pounds. Schumacher lost an average of over $265 per animal when he sold his cattle to Tyson, which resulted in a total loss to Schumacher of nearly $261,000.
"Schumacher's cattle were obviously of high quality, and his losses cannot be explained by market fundamentals," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. "The only conclusion to be reached is that the cattle market is being manipulated by the dominant meatpackers. Otherwise, consumers would not still be paying near record beef prices for the meat derived from devalued cattle sold by Schumacher and other cattle feeders."
The average retail price for Choice beef in the first quarter of 2009 was over $4.33 per pound, significantly higher than the average price during the same period last year which was $4.16 per pound. However, the average price that Schumacher and other cattle producers received for their cattle in the first quarter of 2009 was $8.62 per hundredweight less than what they received during the same period in 2008.
"Due to their unrestrained exercise of market power, the dominant meatpackers are severely exploiting both consumers and cattle producers, resulting in financial ruin for Schumacher and others, but windfall profits for the meatpackers" said Bullard
On June 11, 2009, Tyson filed legal action presumably to publicly embarrass Schumacher for daring to protect the U.S. cattle market against manipulation by the meatpackers. Tyson has taken legal action in an effort to seize Schumacher's home.
Bullard said the U.S. cattle industry is under attack by these dominant meatpackers, which are following the same market-control model that resulted in the loss of 90 percent of U.S. hog farmers and 80 percent of the nation's dairy producers since 1980.
"The small independent cattle feeders, who typically feed 1,000 head or fewer, are on the front lines of this market manipulation fiasco, and 5,000 of these smaller feeding operations were eliminated from our industry between 2007 and 2008," he pointed out.
Bullard explained that the price of calves sold by the nation's family operated cow/calf operations are tied to the prices that Schumacher and other cattle feeders receive for their fed cattle.
"These below cost-of-production fed cattle prices will translate to lower prices paid to cow/calf producers, and that spells disaster for our industry," he said. "There are not too many producers who can withstand the horrendous financial losses that Schumacher has experienced in selling cattle to Tyson, and that's why so many producers are exiting our industry.
"The safety and security of our food supply is at risk because of the failure of both USDA and Congress to protect the cattle market from the anticompetitive practices of the dominant meatpackers," Bullard continued. "Schumacher took steps to stop Tyson and the other meatpackers from manipulating the cattle market, only to find that the judicial system will afford farmers and ranchers no protection unless they can also prove that the unlawful conduct of the meatpackers – which forced cattle prices below the price a competitive market would predict – was done intentionally.
"Meanwhile, as our industry shrinks and more and more control is placed in the hands of the meatpackers, cattle feeders like Schumacher are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and as exemplified by Schumacher's current situation, if a rancher dares stand up to protect their rights and the rights of consumers, Tyson will attempt to seize their home," he concluded.
Schumacher's close-out sheets on his three pens of cattle are available here.
Now Tyson Wants Schumacher's Home
Billings, Mont. – Herreid, S.D., rancher and cattle feeder Herman Schumacher has suffered losses exceeding $260,000 from the sale of three pens of cattle (984 head) sold to Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. (Tyson) since January 1, 2009, yet Schumacher's three pens of cattle were top performers. His 984 cattle gained an average of 459 pounds in just 136 days, representing an average daily gain of 3.37 pounds. Schumacher lost an average of over $265 per animal when he sold his cattle to Tyson, which resulted in a total loss to Schumacher of nearly $261,000.
"Schumacher's cattle were obviously of high quality, and his losses cannot be explained by market fundamentals," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. "The only conclusion to be reached is that the cattle market is being manipulated by the dominant meatpackers. Otherwise, consumers would not still be paying near record beef prices for the meat derived from devalued cattle sold by Schumacher and other cattle feeders."
The average retail price for Choice beef in the first quarter of 2009 was over $4.33 per pound, significantly higher than the average price during the same period last year which was $4.16 per pound. However, the average price that Schumacher and other cattle producers received for their cattle in the first quarter of 2009 was $8.62 per hundredweight less than what they received during the same period in 2008.
"Due to their unrestrained exercise of market power, the dominant meatpackers are severely exploiting both consumers and cattle producers, resulting in financial ruin for Schumacher and others, but windfall profits for the meatpackers" said Bullard
On June 11, 2009, Tyson filed legal action presumably to publicly embarrass Schumacher for daring to protect the U.S. cattle market against manipulation by the meatpackers. Tyson has taken legal action in an effort to seize Schumacher's home.
Bullard said the U.S. cattle industry is under attack by these dominant meatpackers, which are following the same market-control model that resulted in the loss of 90 percent of U.S. hog farmers and 80 percent of the nation's dairy producers since 1980.
"The small independent cattle feeders, who typically feed 1,000 head or fewer, are on the front lines of this market manipulation fiasco, and 5,000 of these smaller feeding operations were eliminated from our industry between 2007 and 2008," he pointed out.
Bullard explained that the price of calves sold by the nation's family operated cow/calf operations are tied to the prices that Schumacher and other cattle feeders receive for their fed cattle.
"These below cost-of-production fed cattle prices will translate to lower prices paid to cow/calf producers, and that spells disaster for our industry," he said. "There are not too many producers who can withstand the horrendous financial losses that Schumacher has experienced in selling cattle to Tyson, and that's why so many producers are exiting our industry.
"The safety and security of our food supply is at risk because of the failure of both USDA and Congress to protect the cattle market from the anticompetitive practices of the dominant meatpackers," Bullard continued. "Schumacher took steps to stop Tyson and the other meatpackers from manipulating the cattle market, only to find that the judicial system will afford farmers and ranchers no protection unless they can also prove that the unlawful conduct of the meatpackers – which forced cattle prices below the price a competitive market would predict – was done intentionally.
"Meanwhile, as our industry shrinks and more and more control is placed in the hands of the meatpackers, cattle feeders like Schumacher are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and as exemplified by Schumacher's current situation, if a rancher dares stand up to protect their rights and the rights of consumers, Tyson will attempt to seize their home," he concluded.
Schumacher's close-out sheets on his three pens of cattle are available here.