Public Affairs
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2020 –The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a Decision and Order Without Hearing by Reason of Default against Amy Knight, doing business as Urbana Stockyards (Urbana Stockyards) of Urbana, Mo., on October 15, 2020 for violation of the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act.
An investigation by USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) revealed that between May 1 through June 30, 2017, Urbana Stockyards failed to maintain its custodial account, resulting in custodial shortages of $115,749 on May 31, 2017, and $104,338 on June 30, 2017. The custodial account shortages were due, in part, to Urbana Stockyard’s misuse of custodial account funds by failing to deposit funds equal to the proceeds receivable from livestock sales and allowing bank fees to be charged to the custodial account.
Under the Default Decision and Order, Urbana Stockyards was assessed a civil penalty of $8,000 and was ordered to cease and desist from failing to maintain its custodial account and from misuse of custodial account funds. The full Default Decision and Order is available.
A custodial account is a trust account designated for shippers’ proceeds from the sale of livestock in trust for sellers. Operating with custodial account shortages is a violation of the P&S Act and places livestock sellers at risk of not being paid promptly or at all.
The P&S Act is a fair-trade practice and payment protection law that promotes fair and competitive marketing environments for the livestock, meat, and poultry industries.
For further information about the Packers and Stockyards Act, contact Jeana Harbison, Packers and Stockyards Division, at (202) 720-7051, or by email at Jeana.M.Harbison@usda.gov.
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