Packers and Stockyards Act

The Agricultural Marketing Act (Sections
212, 231 and 251)
MADE APPLICABLE TO SUBTITLE B—SWINE
PACKER MARKETING CONTRACTS (SWINE
CONTRACT LIBRARY), PURSUANT TO SECTION
221, SUBSECTIONS (2) AND (8) [7 U.S.C. 198(2)
and (8)] AND SECTION 222, SUBSECTION (C)
[7 U.S.C. 198a (C)] OF THE PACKERS AND
STOCKYARDS ACT
Section 212. [7 U.S.C. 1635a]
DEFINITIONS.
In this subtitle:
(1) BASE PRICE—The term ‘‘base price’’ means the
price paid for livestock, delivered at the packing plant,
before application of any premiums or discounts,
expressed in dollars per hundred pounds of carcass
weight.
(2) BASIS LEVEL—The term ‘‘basis level’’ means the
agreed-on adjustment to a future price to establish the
final price paid for livestock.
(3) CURRENT SLAUGHTER WEEK—The term
‘‘current slaughter week’’ means the period beginning
Monday, and ending Sunday, of the week in which a
reporting day occurs.
(4) F.O.B.—The term ‘‘F.O.B.’’ means free on board,
regardless of the mode of transportation, at the point
of direct shipment by the seller to the buyer.
(5) LIVESTOCK—The term ‘‘livestock’’ means cattle,
swine, and lambs.

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(6) LOT—The term ‘‘lot’’ means a group of one or
more livestock that is identified for the purpose of a
single transaction between a buyer and a seller.
(7) MARKETING—The term ‘‘marketing’’ means
the sale or other disposition of livestock, livestock
products, or meat or meat food products in
commerce.
(8) NEGOTIATED PURCHASE—The term
‘‘negotiated purchase’’ means a cash or spot market
purchase by a packer of livestock from a producer
under which—
(A) the base price for the livestock is determined
by seller-buyer interaction and agreement on a
day; and
(B) the livestock are scheduled for delivery to the
packer not later than 14 days after the date on
which the livestock are committed to the packer.
(9) NEGOTIATED SALE—The term ‘‘negotiated sale’’
means a cash or spot market sale by a producer of
livestock to a packer under which—
(A) the base price for the livestock is determined
by seller-buyer interaction and agreement on a
day; and
(B) the livestock are scheduled for delivery to the
packer not later than 14 days after the date on
which the livestock are committed to the packer.
(10) PRIOR SLAUGHTER WEEK—The term ‘‘prior
slaughter week’’ means the Monday through Sunday
prior to a reporting day.

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(11) PRODUCER—The term ‘‘producer’’ means any
person engaged in the business of selling livestock to
a packer for slaughter (including the sale of livestock
from a packer to another packer).
(12) REPORTING DAY—The term ‘‘reporting day’’
means a day on which—
(A) a packer conducts business regarding
livestock committed to the packer, or livestock
purchased, sold, or slaughtered by the packer;
(B) the Secretary is required to make information
concerning the business described in
subparagraph (A) available to the public; and
(C) the Department of Agriculture is open to
conduct business.
(13) SECRETARY—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the
Secretary of Agriculture.
(14) STATE—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 50
States.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, §212, as added Pub.
L. 106–78, title IX, §911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat.
1188 .)
Section 231. [7 U.S.C. 1635i]
DEFINITIONS
In this chapter:
(1) AFFILIATE—The term ‘‘affiliate’’, with respect to a
packer, means—
(A) a person that directly or indirectly owns,
controls, or holds with power to vote, 5 percent or
more of the outstanding voting securities of the
packer;
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(B) a person 5 percent or more of whose
outstanding voting securities are directly or
indirectly owned, controlled, or held with power to
vote, by the packer; and
(C) a person that directly or indirectly controls, or
is controlled by or under common control with, the
packer.
(2) APPLICABLE REPORTING PERIOD—The term
‘‘applicable reporting period’’ means the period of time
prescribed by the prior day report, the morning report,
and the afternoon report, as required under section
232(c).
(3) BARROW—The term ‘‘barrow’’ means a neutered
male swine.
(4) BASE MARKET HOG—The term ‘‘base market
hog’’ means a barrow or gilt for which no discounts
are subtracted from and no premiums are added to
the base price.
(5) BOAR—The term ‘‘boar’’ means a sexually-intact
male swine.
(6) FORMULA PRICE—The term ‘‘formula price’’
means a price determined by a mathematical formula
under which the price established for a specified
market serves as the basis for the formula.
(7) GILT—The term ‘‘gilt’’ means a young female
swine that has not produced a litter.
(8) HOG CLASS—The term ‘‘hog class’’ means, as
applicable—
(A) barrows or gilts;
(B) sows; or
(C) boars or stags.
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(9) NONCARCASS MERIT PREMIUM—The term
‘‘noncarcass merit premium’’ means an increase in
the base price of the swine offered by an individual
packer or packing plant, based on any factor other
than the characteristics of the carcass, if the actual
amount of the premium is known before the sale and
delivery of the swine.
(10) OTHER MARKET FORMULA PURCHASE—
(A) IN GENERAL—The term ‘‘other market
formula purchase’’ means a purchase of swine
by a packer in which the pricing mechanism is a
formula price based on any market other than the
market for swine, pork, or a pork product.
(B) INCLUSION—The term ‘‘other market formula
purchase’’ includes a formula purchase in a case
in which the price formula is based on one or more
futures or options contracts.
(11) OTHER PURCHASE ARRANGEMENT—The
term ‘‘other purchase arrangement’’ means a
purchase of swine by a packer that—
(A) is not a negotiated purchase, swine or pork
market formula purchase, or other market formula
purchase; and
(B) does not involve packer-owned swine.
(12) PACKER—The term ‘‘packer’’ means any
person engaged in the business of buying swine in
commerce for purposes of slaughter, of manufacturing
or preparing meats or meat food products from swine
for sale or shipment in commerce, or of marketing
meats or meat food products from swine in an
unmanufactured form acting as a wholesale broker,
dealer, or distributor in commerce, except that—
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(A) the term includes only a swine processing
plant that is federally inspected;
(B) for any calendar year, the term includes only—
(i) a swine processing plant that slaughtered
an average of at least 100,000 swine per
year during the immediately preceding five
calendar years; and
(ii) a person that slaughtered an average
of at least 200,000 sows, boars, or any
combination thereof, per year during the
immediately preceding five calendar years;
and
(C) in the case of a swine processing plant or
person that did not slaughter swine during the
immediately preceding 5 calendar years, the
Secretary shall consider the plant capacity of
the processing plant or person in determining
whether the processing plant or person should be
considered a packer under this chapter.
(13) PACKER-OWNED SWINE—The term ‘‘packerowned swine’’ means swine that a packer (including a
subsidiary or affiliate of the packer) owns for at least
14 days immediately before slaughter.
(14) PACKER-SOLD SWINE—The term ‘‘packer-sold
swine’’ means the swine that are—
(A) owned by a packer (including a subsidiary
or affiliate of the packer) for more than 14 days
immediately before sale for slaughter; and
(B) sold for slaughter to another packer.
(15) PORK—The term ‘‘pork’’ means the meat of a
porcine animal.
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(16) PORK PRODUCT—The term ‘‘pork product’’
means a product or byproduct produced or processed
in whole or in part from pork.
(17) PURCHASE DATA—The term ‘‘purchase data’’
means all of the applicable data, including weight
(if purchased live), for all swine purchased during
the applicable reporting period, regardless of the
expected delivery date of the swine, reported by—
(A) hog class;
(B) type of purchase; and
(C) packer-owned swine.
(18) SLAUGHTER DATA—The term ‘‘slaughter
data’’ means all of the applicable data for all swine
slaughtered by a packer during the applicable
reporting period, regardless of when the price of
the swine was negotiated or otherwise determined,
reported by—
(A) hog class;
(B) type of purchase; and
(C) packer-owned swine.
(19) SOW—The term ‘‘sow’’ means an adult female
swine that has produced one or more litters.
(20) SWINE—The term ‘‘swine’’ means a porcine
animal raised to be a feeder pig, raised for seedstock,
or raised for slaughter.
(21) SWINE OR PORK MARKET FORMULA
PURCHASE—The term ‘‘swine or pork market
formula purchase’’ means a purchase of swine by a
packer in which the pricing mechanism is a formula

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price based on a market for swine, pork, or a pork
product, other than a future or option for swine, pork,
or a pork product.
(22) TYPE OF PURCHASE—The term ‘‘type of
purchase’’, with respect to swine, means—
(A) a negotiated purchase;
(B) other market formula purchase;
(C) a swine or pork market formula purchase; and
(D) other purchase arrangement.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, §231, as added Pub.
L. 106–78, title IX, §911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat.
1193 ; amended Pub. L. 109–296, §2, Oct. 5, 2006,
120 Stat. 1464 ; Pub. L. 114–54, title I, §102(a), Sept.
30, 2015, 129 Stat. 513 .)
Section 251. [7 U.S.C. 1636]
GENERAL PROVISIONS
(a) CONFIDENTIALITY—The Secretary shall make
available to the public information, statistics, and
documents obtained from, or submitted by, packers,
retail entities, and other persons under this subtitle in
a manner that ensures that confidentiality is preserved
regarding—
(1) the identity of persons, including parties to a
contract; and
(2) proprietary business information.
(b) DISCLOSURE BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
EMPLOYEES—
(1) IN GENERAL—Subject to paragraph (2), no
officer, employee, or agent of the United States
shall, without the consent of the packer or other
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person concerned, divulge or make known in any
manner, any facts or information regarding the
business of the packer or other person that was
acquired through reporting required under this
subtitle.
(2) EXCEPTIONS—Information obtained by the
Secretary under this subtitle may be disclosed—
(A) to agents or employees of the Department
of Agriculture in the course of their official
duties under this subtitle;
(B) as directed by the Secretary or the
Attorney General, for enforcement purposes;
or
(C) by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(3) DISCLOSURE UNDER FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT— Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, no facts or information obtained
under this subtitle shall be disclosed in accordance
with section 552 of title 5, United States Code.
(c) REPORTING BY PACKERS—A packer shall
report all information required under this subtitle on an
individual lot basis.
(d) REGIONAL REPORTING AND AGGREGATION—
The Secretary shall make information obtained under
this subtitle available to the public only in a manner
that—
(1) ensures that the information is published on a
national and a regional or statewide basis as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate;
(2) ensures that the identity of a reporting person
is not disclosed; and
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(3) conforms to aggregation guidelines established
by the Secretary.
(e) ADJUSTMENTS—Prior to the publication of any
information required under this subtitle, the Secretary
may make reasonable adjustments in information
reported by packers to reflect price aberrations
or other unusual or unique occurrences that the
Secretary determines would distort the published
information to the detriment of producers, packers, or
other market participants.
(f) VERIFICATION—The Secretary shall take such
actions as the Secretary considers necessary to verify
the accuracy of the information submitted or reported
under chapter 2, 3, or 4.
(g) ELECTRONIC REPORTING AND PUBLISHING—
(1) IN GENERAL—The Secretary shall, to the
maximum extent practicable, provide for the
reporting and publishing of the information
required under this subtitle by electronic means.
(2) IMPROVEMENTS AND EDUCATION—
(A) ENHANCED ELECTRONIC
PUBLISHING—The Secretary shall develop
and implement an enhanced system
of electronic publishing to disseminate
information collected pursuant to this subtitle.
Such system shall—
(i) present information in a format that
can be readily understood by producers,
packers, and other market participants;
(ii) adhere to the publication deadlines in
this subtitle;
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(iii) present information in charts and
graphs, as appropriate;
(iv) present comparative information for
prior reporting periods, as the Secretary
considers appropriate; and
(v) be updated as soon as practicable
after information is reported to the
Secretary.
(B) EDUCATION—The Secretary shall
carry out a market news education program
to educate the public and persons in the
livestock and meat industries about—
(i) usage of the system developed under
subparagraph (A); and
(ii) interpreting and understanding
information collected and disseminated
through such system.
(h) REPORTING OF ACTIVITIES ON WEEKENDS
AND HOLIDAYS—
(1) IN GENERAL—Livestock committed to a
packer, or purchased, sold, or slaughtered by
a packer, on a weekend day or holiday shall be
reported by the packer to the Secretary (to the
extent required under this subtitle), and reported
by the Secretary, on the immediately following
reporting day.
(2) LIMITATION ON REPORTING BY
PACKERS—A packer shall not be required to
report actions under paragraph (1) more than once
on the immediately following reporting day.

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(i) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS—Nothing in this
subtitle, the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of
1999, or amendments made by that Act restricts or
modifies the authority of the Secretary to—
(1) administer or enforce the Packers and
Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.);
(2) administer, enforce, or collect voluntary reports
under this title or any other law; or
(3) access documentary evidence as provided
under sections 9 and 10 of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 49, 50).
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, §251, as added Pub.
L. 106–78, title IX, §911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat.
1200 ; amended Pub. L. 110–234, title XI, §11001(a)
(1), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1350 ; Pub. L. 110–246,
§4(a), title XI, §11001(a)(1), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat.
1664 , 2112.)

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Non-Discrimination Policy
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
prohibits discrimination against its customers,
employees, and applicants for employment on the
bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability,
sex, gender identify, religion, reprisal, and where
applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial
or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part
of an individual’s income is derived from any public
assistance program, or protected genetic information
in employment or in any program or activity conducted
or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited
bases will apply to all programs and/or employment
activities.)
To File an Employment Complaint
If you wish to file an employment complaint, you
must contact your agency’s EEO Counselor within
45 days of the date of the alleged discriminatory act,
event, or in the case of a personnel action. Additional
information can be found online at http://www.ascr.
usda.gov/complaint_filing_file.html.
To File a Program Complaint
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint
of discrimination, complete the USDA Program
Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://
www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at
any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request
the form. You may also write a letter containing all
of the information requested in the form. Send your
completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at

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U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of
Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442
or email at [email protected].
Persons with Disabilities
Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have
speech disabilities and you wish to file either an EEO
or program complaint please contact USDA through
the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339 or (800)
845-6136 (in Spanish).
Persons with disabilities who wish to file a program
complaint, please see information above on how to
contact us by mail directly or by email. If you require
alternative means of communication for program
information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.)
please contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 7202600 (voice and TDD).

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