United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-09-25 monographic deposited born digital 15 p. GA 1.13:T-RCED-00-299 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-00-299 P0b002ee18037a279 f:rc00299t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-00-299 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-00-299 T-RCED-00-299 Meat packing industry Cattle Competition Livestock products Investigations by federal agencies Restrictive trade practices Marketing Law enforcement Antitrust law Testimony RCED Cattle and hog producers have raised concerns about changes in their industries that affect competition, such as mergers among meatpacking companies, increased marketing of livestock through contracts, and greater control by meatpacking companies over livestock production and marketing. Under the Packers and Stockyards Act, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for monitoring the cattle and hog industries and halting unfair and anticompetitive practices. USDA has assigned this responsibility to the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). Because of continued concerns about whether GIPSA is adequately protecting competition in the livestock markets, GAO reviewed USDA's efforts to implement the Packers and Stockyards Act. This report discusses the number and status of investigations conducted by GIPSA in response to complaints about anticompetitive activity and factors that affect GIPSA's ability to investigate concerns about anticompetitive practices. GAO recommends several actions to improve GIPSA's investigations, including integrating USDA attorneys into GIPSA's investigative teams and adopting more systematic approaches to its investigative work. This testimony summarizes the September report, GAO/RCED-00-242. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-00-299/html/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-00-299.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-00-299/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-00-299.pdf GAO/T-RCED-00-299 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-RCED-00-299 Testimony GAO/T-RCED-00-299; Packers and Stockyards Programs: Investigations of; Meat packing industry Cattle Competition Livestock products Investigations by federal agencies Restrictive trade practices Marketing Law enforcement Antitrust law