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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, wrote letters to Chairman Heath Tarbert of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Administrator Raymond P. Martinez of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration seeking to mitigate the effects of a fire at a Tyson beef processing plant in Holcomb, Kansas, on Nebraska agriculture. Specifically, Senator Fischer called for commodity market oversight and flexibility for livestock haulers:

“With already high margins and heavy supplies, the Tyson fire could not have come at a worse time for cattlemen and the beef industry. This is in addition to an already difficult year that has brought extreme weather events and looming trade uncertainty… Accordingly, I ask that the CFTC remain vigilant in their oversight of this market to ensure that market participants do not use uncertainty to price gouge, manipulate, or take advantage of the burdensome obstacles our producers are currently facing,” wrote Senator Fischer to Chairman Tarbert.

“Due to this situation, drivers will need to haul live cattle to different facilities hundreds of miles away and cross state lines to continue processing. It is imperative that cattle processing continues and other plants can absorb the lost processing capacity. Cattle are scheduled to be processed months in advance and the cattle currently scheduled to be processed in the Holcomb plant cannot wait in feedyards indefinitely – they must be transported to different facilities,” wrote Senator Fischer to Administrator Martinez.

Click here and here to view text of the full letters.

The fire at the Kansas plant, which operated at approximately 6,000 head/day or 375 head/hour, occurred on Friday, August 9th. This incident has the potential to cause disruption and volatility in the beef market.

Click here to read more from Reuters.

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