AB Livestock Buys Feedlot Entangled In Tyson Lawsuit
While Tyson Fresh Meats lawyers were filing a lawsuit on Monday (Jan. 25) against one of the packer’s largest cattle suppliers in Washington state, the ink was still drying on the sale of one of that supplier’s feedlots to one of Tyson’s competitors.
Easterday Ranches, Inc., has sold its “North Lot” in Franklin County, WA, to AB Livestock of Boise, Idaho, according to a report by Northwest News Network, a collaboration of public radio stations that broadcast in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The sale was completed Jan. 22, 2021.
The 25,000-head feedlot sits on 1,500 acres with adjacent irrigated and dry farmland spanning multiple sections. It sold for $16 million dollars, according to the Franklin County Assessor's Office.
AB Livestock is a division of Agri Beef Co, based in Boise. Agri Beef co-owns Washington Beef, a beef packer based in Toppenish, WA, with a daily slaughter capacity of 1,550 head. Last July, Agri Beef announced it would open a packing plant in Jerome, ID, that will process 500 head per day and operate as True West Beef.
The sale of the Easterday feedlot raises some issues the court will need to sort out, since Tyson has said it still has 54,000 cattle on feed with Easterday Ranches. It is unknown how many of Tyson’s cattle are in the North Lot, and how many could still be under Easterday’s watch in its other facility, a 35,000-head feedlot located near Kennewick.
In its court filing, Tyson asked for a court-appointed receiver to take control of Easterday Ranches. Court documents include a request for the current Easterday Ranches staff to turn over everything from keys to financial documents.
“We were not aware the sale was completed when we filed our requests with the court, however, the news does not change our position on the need for a court-appointed receiver to take control of the remaining assets of Easterday Ranches,” Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said in an email.
Agri Beef is known for producing brands including Snake River Farms, Double R Ranch and St. Helens. The company says the acquisition plays a strategic role in its commitment and vision for growth.
“This acquisition provides AB Livestock the opportunity to increase its business with local Northwest suppliers, while reducing reliance on cattle supplies from Canada,” said Matt Buyers, President of AB Livestock in a press release. “It also dramatically reduces our overall carbon foot-print as it brings an additional source of fed-cattle supply much nearer to our Washington processing facility.”
Tyson filed its lawsuit in an attempt to recover assets “in the aftermath of a fraudulent scheme by Easterday Ranches” in which Tyson said it lost millions.
In a statement earlier this week, Tyson said, “Easterday falsified documents to obtain reimbursement by Tyson of more than $200 million in connection with some 200,000 cattle that did not exist. The president of Easterday Ranches admitted to the scheme and acknowledged the fraud was initiated to cover extensive commodities trading losses he had experienced.”
The lawsuit states Easterday “submitted false invoices to Plaintiff (Tyson) for reimbursement, identifying cattle that did not exist; has requested and received reimbursement from Plaintiff for feed that was not in fact purchased; has submitted fictitious inventory records to Plaintiff; and has otherwise schemed to defraud Plaintiff in a way that has caused Plaintiff losses in excess of $225 million."
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