Expanding Local Meat Processing Act of 2025
The Expanding Local Meat Processing Act of 2025 seeks to adjust federal regulations to allow certain small to mid-sized meat packers to own or have an ownership interest in market agencies (livestock buying/marketing firms). Specifically, the bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to amend the regulations to exempt qualifiers packers from a current prohibition in 9 CFR 201.67. Eligibility hinges on capacity thresholds for cattle, sheep, and hogs. The bill also requires market agencies that have ownership or financial ties to packers to disclose the nature of that relationship on the account of sale. The intended effect is to facilitate greater vertical integration for smaller packers, potentially expanding local meat processing capacity and improving market access for producers, while preserving enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act through a saving clause.
Key Points
- 1Purpose and mechanism: Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to amend regulations to allow certain packers to hold an ownership interest in market agencies by exempting them from a current prohibition in 9 CFR 201.67.
- 2Eligibility thresholds: Exempts packers that meet capacity limits—cattle/sheep: under 2,000 slaughtered per day or under 700,000 per year; hogs: under 10,000 slaughtered per day or under 3,000,000 per year.
- 3Timeline: The Secretary must revise the applicable regulation within 1 year after enactment.
- 4Disclosure requirement: Market agencies that have an ownership or financial relationship with a packer must disclose the packer’s name and the nature of the relationship on the account of sale.
- 5Authority preserved: The bill’s savings clause confirms that nothing limits the Secretary’s existing authority under the Packers and Stockyards Act (to protect producers, competition, market integrity, etc.).