Release No.: 143-19
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2019 – As part of its commitment to ensuring fair and competitive markets for the livestock, meat and poultry industries, on October 10, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entered into a stipulation agreement with USA Pork Packers Inc. (USA PORK) and Wayne H. Kreisl, Sr. (Kreisl) of Hazleton, Pa., for alleged violations of the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act. Under the terms of the stipulation agreement, USA Pork and Kreisl waived their rights to a hearing, and will pay a total penalty of $4,000.
An investigation by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service in February 2019, revealed that USA Pork and Kreisl failed to pay timely for 2,791 head of hogs totaling $173,309 from Nov. 14, 2018, through Dec. 10, 2018.
The P&S Act requires subject entities to issue the full payment for livestock by the close of the first business day following purchase and transfer of possession. Failure to timely pay for livestock purchases and failure to issue the full payment for purchases is a violation of the P&S Act.
The P&S Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to assess civil penalties up to $28,061 per violation against any person after the notice and opportunity for hearing on the record. USDA may offer alleged violators the option of waiving their right to a hearing and enter into a stipulation agreement to quickly resolve alleged violations.
The P&S Act is a fair trade practice and payment protection law that promotes fair and competitive marketing environments for the livestock, meat and poultry industries.
For further information about the Packers and Stockyards Act, contact Stuart Frank, Packers and Stockyards Division, at (515) 323-2586, or by email at stuart.frank@usda.gov.
Get the latest Agricultural Marketing Service news at www.ams.usda.gov/news or follow us on Twitter @USDA_AMS. You can also read about us on the USDA blog.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender