Grassley asks Perdue to release report on Holcomb fire

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, today asked Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to release the Packers and Stockyards Division’s findings from its investigation into beef pricing margins following the fire at Tyson’s plant in Holcomb, Kan.

“On August 28, 2019, you directed USDA’s Packers and Stockyards Division to launch an investigation into beef pricing margins following the fire at Tyson’s plant in Holcomb, Kan. Nearly a year later, farmers and producers still await any reports from this investigation,” Grassley wrote.

“If a report is not issued on the Tyson’s Holcomb, Kan., plant by Aug. 9, 2020, a year since the fire at Tyson’s, I will be asking GAO (Government Accountability Office) to conduct an investigation into the reporting processes of the Packers and Stockyards Division to see if additional authority or resources are needed to properly conduct oversight of processing facilities,” Grassley concluded.