U.S. CODE

U.S. Code

§ 1635d. Definitions

In this part:

(1) Cattle committed

The term “cattle committed” means cattle that are scheduled to be delivered to a packer within the 7-day period beginning on the date of an agreement to sell the cattle.

(2) Cattle type

The term “cattle type” means the following types of cattle purchased for slaughter:

(A) Fed steers.

(B) Fed heifers.

(D) Cows.

(E) Bulls.

(3) Formula marketing arrangement

The term “formula marketing arrangement” means the advance commitment of cattle for slaughter by any means other than through a negotiated purchase or a forward contract, using a method for calculating price in which the price is determined at a future date.

(4) Forward contract

The term “forward contract” means—

(A) an agreement for the purchase of cattle, executed in advance of slaughter, under which the base price is established by reference to—

(i) prices quoted on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange; or

(ii) other comparable publicly available prices; or

(B) such other forward contract as the Secretary determines to be applicable.

(5) Packer

The term “packer” means any person engaged in the business of buying cattle in commerce for purposes of slaughter, of manufacturing or preparing meats or meat food products from cattle for sale or shipment in commerce, or of marketing meats or meat food products from cattle in an unmanufactured form acting as a wholesale broker, dealer, or distributor in commerce, except that—

(A) the term includes only a cattle processing plant that is federally inspected;

(B) for any calendar year, the term includes only a cattle processing plant that slaughtered an average of at least 125,000 head of cattle per year during the immediately preceding 5 calendar years; and

(C) in the case of a cattle processing plant that did not slaughter cattle during the immediately preceding 5 calendar years, the Secretary shall consider the plant capacity of the processing plant in determining whether the processing plant should be considered a packer under this part.

(6) Packer-owned cattle

The term “packer-owned cattle” means cattle that a packer owns for at least 14 days immediately before slaughter.

(7) Terms of trade

The term “terms of trade” includes, with respect to the purchase of cattle for slaughter—

(A) whether a packer provided any financing agreement or arrangement with regard to the cattle;

(B) whether the delivery terms specified the location of the producer or the location of the packer’s plant;

(C) whether the producer is able to unilaterally specify the date and time during the business day of the packer that the cattle are to be delivered for slaughter; and

(D) the percentage of cattle purchased by a packer as a negotiated purchase that are delivered to the plant for slaughter more than 7 days, but fewer than 14 days, after the earlier of—

(i) the date on which the cattle were committed to the packer; or

(ii) the date on which the cattle were purchased by the packer.

(8) Type of purchase

The term “type of purchase”, with respect to cattle, means—

(A) a negotiated purchase;

(B) a formula market arrangement; and

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