McDonald’s has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. meat industry’s major beef processors and their subsidiaries for alleged price fixing.

A disruption in distillery inventory in February was one source of gasoline prices spiking after several weeks of gradual decline at the pump.
BP’s refinery in Whiting, Indiana, experienced an unplanned outage in early February and was expected to return to full production in March, according to reporting by Reuters. The plant produces 435,000 barrels per day in regular operations.

On Jan. 19, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced a pilot program that will allow more cattle producers and meat processors access to the USDA’s beef quality grading and certification through virtual technology.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently announced that the USDA is providing 15 awards totaling $115 million in 17 states that will go toward beefing up independent processing capacity across the country.

On May 19, the USDA announced a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) found at a South Carolina slaughterhouse. It was confirmed to be an atypical case, and the USDA assured the animal never entered the slaughter channels or the food supply and was of no risk to human health.

Policymakers need to understand the role multi-plant coordination plays in the fed cattle market as they consider policies aimed at increasing negotiated trade with the hope of improving price discovery.

Tyson Foods, one of the largest food companies in the country, introduced earlier in March the first-of-its-kind Climate-Smart Beef Program to promote climate-smart agricultural practices and create value for beef producers along the way.

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