Senate Minority Leader Schumer wants Brooke Rollins to stop Nebraska Tyson beef plant closure [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Nebraska Examiner

U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts said he encouraged Tyson to keep the plant open and help displaced workers find jobs
By: Juan Salinas II - January 16, 2026 8:57 pm

OMAHA — U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, asking her federal department to “block” the closure of the Tyson beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska.

Schumer, in the letter, pointed to the Packers and Stockyards Act, saying the upcoming closure in Lexington is a “textbook violation” of the century-old federal law. The New York Democrat said the closure will send “shockwaves through America’s cattle market.”

“[USDA] publicly stated it is ‘closely monitoring’ the planned closure of large processors like Tyson’s Lexington plant, yet has offered little clarity on whether that monitoring includes active investigation, enforcement, or any concrete steps to protect producers and competition … I urge you to act swiftly to preserve competition, help bring prices down for families and farmers, and save jobs,” Schumer’s letter reads.

The Packers and Stockyards Act, passed in 1921, was meant to promote competitiveness and fair practices in the livestock, meat and poultry industries — and to ensure payment protection.

Read more: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/01/16/senate-minority-leader-schumer-wants-brooke-rollins-to-stop-nebraska-tyson-beef-plant-closure/