The A-PLUS Act would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to revise USDA regulations under the Packers and Stockyards framework to clarify that livestock market agencies and auction owners may have an ownership interest in, finance, or help manage or operate certain small meatpacking businesses. The bill applies only to packers below specified slaughter-capacity thresholds: for cattle and sheep, less than 2,000 animals per day or 700,000 per year; for hogs, less than 10,000 per day or 3,000,000 per year. It also requires disclosure to livestock sellers when such an ownership or financial relationship exists.
The bill is aimed at expanding processing capacity in the livestock sector, especially for smaller and regional meatpacking operations, by easing a regulatory restriction that can limit vertical relationships between livestock auction businesses and packers. At the same time, it preserves USDA’s broader authority under the Packers and Stockyards Act to regulate for producer protection, competition, market integrity, and conflicts of interest.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would require USDA to amend 9 CFR 201.67 within one year to create an explicit regulatory exception for market agencies to hold interests in or participate in small packers, while imposing a disclosure requirement to livestock sellers. It would not change the Packers and Stockyards Act itself, but it would alter how USDA implements conflict-of-interest rules for smaller meatpacking operations and could affect livestock auctions, small processors, producers, and market participants in cattle, sheep, and hog markets.
Sentiment
The available context suggests generally favorable bipartisan sentiment. The bill was introduced by a large bipartisan group of House members, indicating cross-party support for the goal of increasing livestock processing capacity and supporting smaller meatpacking businesses. It was referred to the House Agriculture Committee and then to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry, with no recorded votes or committee transcript debate in the provided materials.
Contention
The main policy tension is between promoting investment in small packers and preventing conflicts of interest in livestock marketing. Supporters appear to favor allowing livestock auction owners and market agencies to have financial stakes in small processors to expand capacity and improve market access, while the bill’s savings clause reflects concern that USDA must still be able to police producer protection, competition, and market integrity. Any opposition would likely focus on the risk that ownership ties could disadvantage sellers or distort pricing, which is why the disclosure requirement and the preservation of USDA enforcement authority are central features.
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 53, Chapter 7 and Chapter 380 of the Public Acts of 2023, relative to the inspection of food derived from animals.