1.Prohibition on packers owning, feeding, or
controlling livestock
(a)Section 202 of the Packers and Stockyards
Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 192) is amended—
(1)by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as
subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and
(2)by inserting after subsection (e) the
following:
(f)Own or feed livestock directly, through a
subsidiary, or through an arrangement that gives the packer operational,
managerial, or supervisory control over the livestock, or over the farming
operation that produces the livestock, to such an extent that the producer is
no longer materially participating in the management of the operation with
respect to the production of the livestock, except that this subsection shall
not apply to—
(1)an arrangement entered into within 7 days
(excluding any Saturday or Sunday) before slaughter of the livestock by a
packer, a person acting through the packer, or a person that directly or
indirectly controls, or is controlled by or under common control with, the
packer;
(2)a cooperative or entity owned by a
cooperative, if a majority of the ownership interest in the cooperative is held
by active cooperative members that—
(A)own, feed, or control livestock; and
(B)provide the livestock to the cooperative
for slaughter;
(3)a packer that is not required to report to
the Secretary on each reporting day (as defined in section 212 of the
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635a)) information on the price
and quantity of livestock purchased by the packer; or
(4)a packer that owns 1 livestock processing
plant;
or
.
(b)
(1)Subject to paragraph (2), the amendments
made by subsection (a) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
(2)In the case of a packer that on the date of
enactment of this Act owns, feeds, or controls livestock intended for slaughter
in violation of section 202(f) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (as
amended by subsection (a)), the amendments made by subsection (a) apply to the
packer—
(A)in the case of a packer of swine, beginning
on the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act;
and
(B)in the case of a packer of any other type
of livestock, beginning as soon as practicable, but not later than 180 days,
after the date of enactment of this Act, as determined by the Secretary of
Agriculture.