USDA to Audit Tyson, Others

Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale is among four meat packing companies that the U.S. Department Agriculture wants to audit.

USDA Secretary Ann Veneman said the department is seeking $1 million from Congress so it can audit the four largest U.S. beef packers to ensure they are submitting uniform financial information. The proposal is for the fiscal 2004 budget and results of the audit would likely not be available until 2006. The Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration would get the $1 million to perform the audit.

The four companies in question — Tyson Foods, Cargill Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn., Swift & Co. of Greeley, Colo., and Farmland Industries of Kansas City, Mo. — account for 80 percent of beef slaughter in the nation.

GIPSA administrator JoAnn Waterfield said a study released last year of “captive supply” of cattle — animals owned or controlled by packers — found some discrepancies in reporting among packers. The audits would show if packers are providing comparable data in a uniform manner in their financial reports, she said.

Packers are required to file annual financial reports with the USDA but the reports never have been audited. Packers with more than $500,000 a year in purchases of livestock are required to file the reports with GIPSA. They involve items commonly found on a company’s operating reports, such as net profits, margins, liabilities, assets and balances.

“Meatpacking is a dynamic industry,” Waterfield said. “We need to find out what’s going on with packers, how they keep their records.”

Shares of Tyson trading at an all-time record low of $7.25 on March 12.