Nebraska Considers Lifting Meat Packer Ban

A proposed change to Nebraska state law could lead to meat packers owning livestock.

In pork-producing states like Iowa, Minnesota and North Carolina, many farmers today are under contract with giant meat packers like Tyson or Smithfield Foods.The companies own the pigs and pay the farmers to raise them.

That arrangement is illegal in Nebraska, which barred corporations from owning livestock in the late 1990s to protect smaller farm businesses. Nebraska’s ban is one of the only laws still standing. A bill introduced in the state’s legislature seeks to change that.

Iowa Public Radio recently reported that Nebraska State Sen. Ken Schilz of Ogallala introduced a bill which would lift the packer ban on livestock ownership, but only for hogs, not cattle. It’s part of a package of proposals aimed at growing Nebraska’s livestock industry.

Meat packing companies can keep costs down by owning hogs from birth to slaughter. Some hog farmers want to allow corporate ownership in the pork industry to help boost the rural economy. Opponents, however, say it puts too much power in the hands of packing companies.

The idea behind allowing farmers to contract with pork processors is to provide another source of income for farm families who may not have enough land to bring a son or daughter back into the business.

Schilz says with packer contracts, more young farmers could get loans to build hog barns. Critics say that would mean giving up control over the most valuable part of the farm: the livestock. S