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A lawyer’s perspective: the Tyson Foods lawsuit

An attorney says the loss of a Tyson Foods poultry processing plant in southeast Missouri has been costly to local farmers and the company should be held accountable.

Russ Oliver with the Oliver Law Firm represents four poultry farmers who are suing Tyson to recoup losses from the closure. Read the lawsuit. Oliver tells Brownfield farmers made million-dollar investments to update to poultry barns, provided labor, land and equipment with the promise the facility would stay open and “the farms are tied to a couple of million dollars of debt they have no way to pay, because there’s no poultry producer in the area.”

He also says there was a lack of communication from Tyson Foods to farmers about the closure with the exception of a press release issued to the public in early August. The facility closed in October 2023.

Cal-Maine Foods is in the process of buying the Tyson plant, but Oliver says the company is offering half of the amount Tyson paid farmers for one dozen eggs.

“And on top of that, to get a contract with Cal-Maine, the company is requiring the farmers fully release Tyson before they do business with them.”

He says stronger enforcement of anti-trust laws at the U.S. Department of Justice and USDA rule updates are needed to protect U.S. farmers.

“There needs to be reforms made to the Packers and Stockyards Act that prevent this leverage of farmers through these debt schemes. It needs to stop,” he says. “And the Packers and Stockyards Act needs stronger enforcement against these companies that hold positions of power and because of not only control of the marketplace, but local geography as well.”

Oliver says there hasn’t been any formal response since the lawsuit was filed at the end of last year, but he’s expecting a response to the litigation by the end of January.

Tyson Foods still has not responded to Brownfield’s request for comment.

Hear the interview. Note: the interview has been edited for time and clarity.