Bill > S782

This bill, known as the "Expanding Local Meat Processing Act of 2025", directs the Secretary of Agriculture to modify existing regulations to allow smaller meat processing packers to have an ownership interest in market agencies, which are businesses that sell livestock on behalf of producers. Specifically, the bill exempts packers with relatively small slaughter capacities from current prohibitions: for cattle or sheep, this means less than 2,000 animals per day or 700,000 animals per year, and for hogs, less than 10,000 animals per day or 3,000,000 animals per year. When such a market agency has an ownership interest, financing, or management involvement with a packer, they must disclose the relationship and the packer's name on the account of sale. The bill includes a savings clause that preserves the Secretary of Agriculture's authority to enforce existing rules under the Packers and Stockyards Act to protect producers, maintain market competition, ensure market integrity, and prevent conflicts of interest. The regulatory changes must be implemented within one year of the bill's enactment.