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Meat packer says buyout won't hurt ranchersBILLINGS, Mont. (AP)--A spokesman for the world's largest beef packing company says ranchers have nothing to fear from his company's efforts to become the largest beef packer in the United States. Chandler Keys, spokesman for the Brazilian-controlled JBS USA, told members of the Montana Stockgrowers Association Dec. 12 that his company's success depends on successful cow-calf operations. "We're in the cattle industry and we're going to pay you top dollar to get these cattle in our yards," said Keys, head of government and industry relations for JBS. Cow-calf operations breed cattle, selling weaned animals in the 450- to 650-pound range to feedlots, which fatten them before sending the cattle to slaughter. The federal government and several states, including Montana and Wyoming, are suing JBS to stop its plans to purchase National Beef Packing Co., of Kansas City, Mo. The purchase would trim the number of major U.S. beef buyers in the United States from five to three, raising antitrust concerns for federal and state attorneys. JBS bought Colorado-based Swift & Co., including its plant in Grand Island, Neb., in 2007 and Smithfield Beef Group this year. The Smithfield purchase included Five Rivers Ranch Cattle Feeding, the Western feedlots that buy feeder cattle from several states, including Montana. Feedlots can't survive without cattle, Keys said, assuring stockgrowers that they would be well taken care of so beef continued to flow. Keys emphasized his company's ability to get beef into tough markets around the world, including Europe, Russia and South Korea. JBS has offered $465 million in cash and $95 million in stock for National Beef. The purchase would put more than 80 percent of America's beef packing industry into the hands of JBS, Tyson Foods and Cargill. JBS has said it would fight the lawsuit. 12/22/08 Date: 12/17/08 Advertisement
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