WASHINGTON, March 5, 2021 -The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entered into a stipulation agreement with Jamestown Livestock Co., (Jamestown) of Jamestown, N.D., on Jan. 28, 2021, for violations of the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act. Under the terms of the stipulation agreement, Jamestown waived its rights to a hearing and paid a penalty of $2,500.<_o3a_p>
An investigation by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) revealed that Jamestown failed to maintain its custodial account, resulting in custodial shortages of $57,802 on May 29, 2020, and $15,664 on June 30, 2020. The custodial account shortages were partly due to Jamestown failing to reimburse the custodial account for purchases and uncollected receivables.<_o3a_p>
A custodial account is a trust account designated for shippers' proceeds from the sale of livestock in trust for sellers. Operating with custodial account shortages is a violation of the P&S Act and places livestock sellers at risk of not being paid timely or at all.<_o3a_p>
The P&S Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to assess civil penalties up to $29,270 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 resolve alleged violations quickly.<_o3a_p>
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.<_o3a_p>
For further information about the Packers and Stockyards Act, contact Jeana Harbison, Packers and Stockyards Division, at (202) 720-7051, or by email at Jeana.M.Harbison@usda.gov.<_o3a_p>
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Agricultural Marketing Service published this content on 05 March 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 05 March 2021 16:34:05 UTC.
