Livestock Markets

Breaking: Mexican Border Closed Again as New World Screwworm Comes Within 370 Miles of the U.S.

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 13:38:15 GMT

On July 8, Mexico’s National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality reported a new case of New World screwworm (NWS) in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz, Mexico, which is approximately 160 miles northward of the current sterile fly dispersal grid on the eastern side of the country and 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border.

This new northward detection comes approximately two months after northern detections were reported in Oaxaca and Veracruz, less than 700 miles away from the U.S. border, which triggered the closure of our ports to Mexican cattle, bison and horses on May 11, 2025 .

While USDA announced a risk-based phased port re-opening strategy for cattle, bison and equine from Mexico beginning as early as July 7, 2025 , this newly reported NWS case raises significant concern about the previously information shared by Mexican officials and severely compromises the outlined port reopening schedule of five ports from July 7 to Sept. 15. Therefore, in order to protect American livestock and the U.S. food supply, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has ordered the closure of livestock trade through southern ports of entry effective immediately.

“The United States has promised to be vigilant — and after detecting this new NWS case, we are pausing the planned port reopening’s to further quarantine and target this deadly pest in Mexico. We must see additional progress combatting NWS in Veracruz and other nearby Mexican states in order to reopen livestock ports along the Southern border,” Rollins says. “Thanks to the aggressive monitoring by USDA staff in the U.S. and in Mexico, we have been able to take quick and decisive action to respond to the spread of this deadly pest.”

To ensure the protection of U.S. livestock herds, USDA is holding Mexico accountable by ensuring proactive measures are being taken to maintain a NWS free barrier. This is maintained with stringent animal movement controls, surveillance, trapping and following the proven science to push the NWS barrier south in phases as quickly as possible.

In June, Secretary Rollins launched a 5-point plan to combat NWS by protecting our border at all costs, increasing eradication efforts in Mexico, and increasing readiness. USDA also announced the groundbreaking of a sterile fly dispersal facility in South Texas. This facility will provide a critical contingency capability to disperse sterile flies should a NWS detection be made in the Southern U.S.

Simultaneously, USDA is moving forward with the design process to build a domestic sterile fly production facility to ensure it has the resources to push NWS back to the Darien Gap. USDA is working on these efforts in lockstep with border states – Arizona, New Mexico and Texas – as it will take a coordinated approach with federal, state and local partners to keep this pest at bay and out of the U.S.

USDA will continue to have personnel perform site visits throughout Mexico to ensure the Mexican government has adequate protocols and surveillance in place to combat this pest effectively and efficiently.

Click to enlarge.

(USDA)

Your Next Read: Protect Your Livestock: Signs of New World Screwworm

Breaking News: Mexican Ports to Reopen in Phases for Cattle Trade Starting July 7

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 19:28:22 GMT

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced today a risk-based phased port re-openings for cattle, bison and equine from Mexico beginning as early as July 7.

The announcement is following the extensive collaboration between USDA–Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) experts and their counterparts in Mexico to increase New World screwworm (NWS) surveillance, detection and eradication efforts. The port reopening timeline is:

Douglas, Ariz. – July 7
Columbus, N.M. – July 14
Santa Teresa, N.M. – July 21
Del Rio, Texas – Aug. 18
Laredo, Texas – Sept. 15

After each reopening, USDA will evaluate to ensure no adverse effects arise.

Progress Being Made to Stop Progress of NWS

According to USDA, progress has been made in several critical areas since the ports were closed on May 11 , including:

Resolution of challenges with conducting flights in Mexico that has allowed the team to consistently conduct sterile NWS fly dispersal seven days each week
Dispersal of more than 100 million flies each week
USDA sent five APHIS teams to visit, observe and gain a deeper understanding of Mexico’s NWS response. The APHIS teams were allowed the opportunity to share feedback.

USDA says there has not been a notable increase in reported NWS cases in Mexico, nor any northward movement of NWS over the past eight weeks.

“At USDA we are focused on fighting the New World screwworm’s advancement in Mexico. We have made good progress with our counterparts in Mexico to increase vital pest surveillance efforts and have boosted sterile fly dispersal efforts. These quick actions by the Trump Administration have improved the conditions to allow the phased reopening of select ports on the Southern Border to livestock trade,” Rollins says. “We are continuing our posture of increased vigilance and will not rest until we are sure this devastating pest will not harm American ranchers.”

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) says it supports the plan to strategically reopen key ports of entry.

“NCBA and our state affiliates have spent months working with USDA to safeguard the U.S. cattle industry from the threat of New World screwworm. We strongly support USDA’s five-pronged plan to fight the screwworm, which includes bolstering sterile fly production by renovating a facility in Metapa, Mexico, and by building a new fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in south Texas,” says NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. “Today’s announcement to reopen key ports of entry is a measured, thoughtful approach by Secretary Rollins to allow some trade while also ensuring the American cattle industry is protected from this pest.”

While the Douglas, Ariz., port presents the lowest risk based upon the geography of Sonora and a long history of effective collaboration between APHIS and Sonora on animal health issues, USDA intends to reopen additional ports in New Mexico, and if it is proven safe to do so, in Texas, over the coming weeks. Additional port openings will be based on APHIS’ continuous reevaluation of the number of cases and potential northward movement of NWS, Mexico’s continued efforts to curb illegal animal movements, and implementation of further rigorous inspection and treatment protocols.

“We trust Secretary Rollins made this decision with the latest information from USDA staff in Mexico, and we know she will continue holding her counterparts in the Mexican government accountable for eradicating screwworm,” Woodall adds. “NCBA and our state affiliate partners will continue working with USDA and key members of Congress to protect the United States from New World screwworm.”

Continuing Efforts

USDA is working with Mexico’s National Department of Health, Food Safety and Food Quality (SENASICA) on outreach, education and training efforts to raise awareness and put producers on high alert about NWS, along with utilizing their well-functioning central laboratory for diagnosing cases. While Mexico has made great progress on animal movement controls and surveillance, additional progress will help ensure the remaining U.S. ports reopen. Enhanced animal movement controls to stem illegal animal movements from the south, along with robust surveillance and NWS risk mitigations beyond check points will be critical in pushing back NWS. APHIS technical teams continue to engage with SENASICA to improve the overall NWS posture in Mexico and implement the rigorous steps needed to keep this pest away from our border.

Mexico will also begin renovation of its sterile fruit fly facility in Metapa this week, with renovation expected to be completed by July 2026. Renovation of this facility will allow for production of between 60-100 million sterile NWS flies each week. This is a critical step towards reaching the goal of producing the estimated 400-500 million flies each week needed to re-establish the NWS barrier at the Darien Gap.

Only cattle and bison, born and raised in Sonora or Chihuahua, or that are treated according to cattle and bison NWS protocol when entering these states, will be eligible for import. See Importing Live Cattle and Bison From Mexico to the United States for more information on cattle and bison import requirements.

In addition, reopening the Del Rio (Aug. 18) and Colombia Bridge (Sept.15) ports will be contingent on Coahuila and Nuevo Leon adopting the same NWS protocols for cattle and bison as those now required of Sonora and Chihuahua for cattle or bison entering those states.

Equine may import from anywhere in Mexico. They require a seven-day quarantine at the port of entry and must import in accordance with the equine NWS protocol and other requirements detailed on USDA APHIS | Import Horses from Mexico webpage . Approved equine facilities are available at the Santa Teresa, N.M., port and will be available for entry of horses when that port is reopened.

In May 2025, USDA suspended imports of live cattle, bison, and equines from Mexico into the U.S. due to the continued and rapid northward spread of NWS. During the weeks of June 2 and June 16, teams of APHIS experts conducted robust onsite assessments of Mexico’s NWS response efforts to fully reassess the risk of NWS incursions to the U.S. posed by importation of Mexican cattle across our southern border.

Your Next Read: Open Heifers Explained: What You Need to Consider to Increase Preg Rates

Buckle Up: Here's Why Cattle Prices Are Setting Up for Another Wild Ride in 2025

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 14:13:42 GMT

The cattle markets hit historic highs again to start 2025, and as USDA’s latest Cattle Inventory report showed U.S. beef cattle inventory fell to the lowest level in 64 years , tight supplies and strong demand could push cattle prices to even higher highs in 2025.

USDA’s annual Cattle Inventory Report released Friday shows the U.S. total cattle inventory shrunk another 1% over the past year, with the number of beef cows also down 1%.

Those numbers, along with questions around just how much higher these markets can go, were major topics surrounding the 2025 CattleCon in San Antonio, Texas, (the annual cattle industry convention) this past week.

Signs of a Slowdown?
Economists and market analysts knew the cattle herd was still shrinking, even before the report was released last week. But economists say there are some signs starting to signal that is slowing down.

“We certainly got smaller in 2024. That was actually kind of obvious about a year ago when you looked at heifer numbers,” said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock specialist. “If you look at the heifer numbers in this report, we don’t have a lot. And so we’re going to be challenged going forward to stop this liquidation. I think we might stabilize numbers this year, but I think growth is pretty much a long shot at this point.”

“I think we’re getting close to the bottom, as Darrell referenced,” said Don Close, senior animal protein analyst for Terrain, during the U.S. Farm Report live taping at NCBA’s annual convention. “I think the challenge is retaining enough heifers out of the supply that we have to provide the fuel for the build back.”

Calf Crop Was a Big Surprise
Casey Mabry, with Blue Reef Agri-Marketing, said there actually was a surprise in the latest cattle inventory report, and that wasn’t with heifer numbers.

“The biggest surprise to me was really looking at the total calf crop report, because we’re looking at the total cow inventory numbers. I think that probably caught some people off guard, having the calf crop a little bit bigger than what most people’s expectations were,” said Mabry.

Incentives Drive Outcome
With cash cattle hitting records to start 2025 a question on almost everyone’s mind is, can it continue? Mabry said it really depends on if demand can remain steady, since the supply side will remain tight.

“Incentives drive outcome and obviously with grain prices as cheap as they’ve been, and cattle prices as high as they’ve been, we’ve held on to some cattle. So it’s kept the front end of the market really, really tight and it’s kept packers chasing after cattle. So that ran the market $10 or $15 higher, in my opinion, than what we should have on the front end,” said Mabry. “So, it’s going to be really interesting to watch as we go through the back end of this thing. We’ve probably got to work through some stuff right here on the front end. But if the analysts continue to say we’re going to be tighter and demand stays pretty good, we’ll probably see prices exceed where we were before.”

“We’re Still Bullish”
Peel reminds producers there’s a great deal of risk in these markets. He said the markets don’t like uncertainty. With trade concerns and tariff threats, combined with a strong U.S. dollar, the combination is throwing uncertainty into the market.

“We’re very bullish and still bullish in general going forward for average prices,” said Peel. “But we also know that we’re subject to a lot of shocks right now. We’ve seen a couple already. We’re certainly vulnerable. There’s a lot of air below us since this market is so high. So producers really need to still do that risk management. Producers need to think about those marketing windows. If you got caught in a shock in one of those, it could really be devastating to you.”

Close has similar advice. He said with the development of insurance products, plus futures and options contracting, there are several ways for producers to manage risk today.

“At the price level we’re at, and just any measured retracement in the market, it could take you out of the game. At these price levels, it is absolutely imperative to have some kind of price risk management program in place,” said Close.

“I think you just need to run with what I call a keen sense of paranoia,” said Mabry. “I mean, be bullish, be excited about the market, but don’t get overly euphoric. We’ve got to remember back a short three or four years ago, we were all in the doldrums and very scared. And there’s a lot of people that were telling their kids to get into a different business. And now all of a sudden, we’re all jumping on the bandwagon of cattle and getting excited about this. So, we want to make sure that you guys are running your businesses like businesses and not gambling on cattle.”

Your Next Read:

Are More Record Cattle Prices Ahead in 2025?

Beef Production and Fall Beef Demand

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:58:46 GMT

As of Oct. 18, the daily Choice boxed beef price was $320.65/cwt., up from a recent low of $296.37/cwt on September 26 and the highest price since July 15. The weekly Choice boxed beef price is also at the highest level since July and has averaged 2.2 percent higher year over year and a record high for the year-to-date (Figure 1). Numerous wholesale cuts have moved higher recently including chuck arm roast (IMPS 114E), chuck roll (116A), chuck mock tender (116B), and chuck flap (116G). Wholesale round cuts have also moved higher including round knuckle (167A), top inside round (169A), bottom (gooseneck) round (170), outside round (171B), and eye of round (171C). Middle meat prices from the loin and rib have also increased including bottom sirloin flap (185A), sirloin tri-tip (185D), loin strip (180), and tenderloin (189A). Likewise, wholesale ribeye prices (112A) have increased recently and are showing an early seasonal demand for the holidays.

Figure 1. Boxed Beef Cutout Value

(Peel)

Thus far in 2024, steer slaughter is unchanged from one year ago. Heifer slaughter is down 1.6 percent year over year. Total fed slaughter is down 0.7 percent compared to last year, less than earlier expected. For the year-to-date, steer carcasses have averaged 25.5 pounds heavier than last year, and heifer carcasses are averaging 22.6 pounds heavier than one year ago. The result of stronger than expected fed slaughter and heavier carcass weights has been an increase in fed beef production of 1.9 percent year over year thus far in 2024. In fact, for the last 16 weeks, fed beef production has been 3.7 percent larger year over year. The increase in boxed beef prices is perhaps even more surprising in the face of increased fed beef production. Higher prices and increased quantities suggest that beef demand continues to be very robust.

In contrast to fed beef production, nonfed beef production is sharply lower this year, down 12.8 percent year over year. Total cow slaughter is down 15.3 percent, consisting of a 13.8 percent year over year decrease in dairy cow slaughter and a 16.8 percent decrease in beef cow slaughter so far this year. Bull slaughter is also down 8.1 percent compared to last year. Tighter supplies of lean trimmings have kept processing beef prices higher this year and the demand for lean has increased demand for lean carcass cuts. For example, the current wholesale price of 90 percent lean trimmings is higher than wholesale prices for top inside round, bottom (gooseneck) round, and outside round.

In the fall, summer grilling demand gives way to seasonally stronger demand for roasts, crock pot cooking and increased middle meat demand in restaurants. Wholesale ground beef prices have moderated recently as hamburger grilling demand slows but prices remain well above year ago levels. Total beef production is down a scant 0.7 percent so far this year and may end the year equal to year ago levels. Despite this, wholesale and retail beef prices are higher thus far in 2024.

Where’s the Beef: Con Artist Turns Texas Cattle Industry Into $100M Playground

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 14:51:45 GMT

Fraud is the son of greed. In the span of a few months in 2015, a Lone Star con-man pulled off a stunning livestock swindle, generating more dollar flow than some of the largest beef-producing companies in the United States. In a high-risk, anxiety-inducing shell game with almost $100 million on the table, Tony Lyon pulled the strings on an outrageously intoxicating check-kiting scam, and piled lies atop a teetering Jenga tower for the ages.

As businesses and banks ignored alarm bells, including bold warnings from the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA), Lyon used a legitimate knowledge of agriculture and ranching, along with a good old boy personae and the familiarity of native status, to launch a scheme seeded with fake buyers, ghost cattle, false invoices, and empty handshakes. It was a hellfire ride to criminal infamy and doomed to failure out of the chute, but for several buck-wild months in 2015, the sticky-fingered Lyon turned the Texas cattle industry into his own playground.

Born to Grift

In 2011, 46-year-old Lyon was a player in the North Texas cattle industry, moving livestock at a steady pace as a representative of Nebraska-based Midwestern Cattle Marketing (MCM). Roughly three years later, emboldened and boosted by a seemingly remarkable ability to consistently turn a profit, Lyon approached the defining moment of an illicit career: He asked MCM for a checkbook and a signature stamp, the twin tools of larceny. With so much gravy for the taking, MCM acquiesced to Lyon’s request, and set the fuse on its own collapse.

And in the shining interim between the checkbook acquisition and MCM’s bankruptcy, Lyon was reborn as a golden boy of the U.S. cattle market, hauling in millions of dollars with a wink. However, an understanding of the enormity of his con requires a trip in time to 2000, back to a hustle that revealed Lyon’s massive propensity to deceive: Some men are born to grift.

Bigger and Badder

Raised in Jack County, Lyon tore up the backroads around the community of Perrin, roughly 100 miles northwest of Dallas, and looked the part of Texas cattleman: 6’1” in Ropers and Wranglers, easy laugh, relaxed demeanor, a shade leathered, junior college football stint, and a family man to boot. He put others at ease, shedding his skin according to audience. “Tony looked like he just walked out of a feed store and had a rancher-type appearance, and that added to his credibility. He knew a little about everything and could talk to anybody about anything, and would be whatever he thought you wanted him to be. If you didn’t know he was a crook, it’d be hard not to like him,” describes TSCRA Special Ranger John Bradshaw.

(Farm Journal)

TSCRA special rangers, an elite group of law enforcement officers, primarily investigate cattle theft and cattle-related agricultural crimes. The Association has 30 special rangers stationed throughout Texas and Oklahoma, either commissioned through the Texas Department of Public Safety or Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

In 2000, Lyon had a big hand in three livestock operations, all centered in Perrin, as owner of Lyon Cattle Co.; part owner of Cattlemen’s Enterprises; and part owner of D&L Cattle Co. “He genuinely knew cattle and farming, and could have made several hundred thousand dollars a year in legit income just doing things the right way, but he was only interested in being the biggest,” continues Bradshaw. “Just doing good was never enough for Tony. It’s like his moral compass is broke, and he’s not wired like most people.”

Lyon hatched a plan to turn loans obtained from Bank of America (BOA) in Amarillo into play money by wildly lying about cattle numbers. He gained a line of credit for each of his cattle companies, with the animals, feed inventory, and prepaid feed as collateral. In total, Lyon squeezed three loans out of BOA for $7.5 million, $1.3 million, and $600,000.

It was money for nothing, because the cattle didn’t exist—at least not in the quantities represented by Lyon. Each month, when filling out required borrowing base reports for BOA, he juiced the cattle numbers and kept the ruse rolling from June 13, 2000 to Jan. 20, 2001. In February 2001, BOA officials poked the numbers around Lyon’s loans, and caught scent of the rot. The Amarillo bank ordered Lyon to cease all sales and purchases, and began a top-to-bottom inspection, resulting in a jarring report: Lyon had cut a deep chasm between the true numbers and his monthly report claims.

According to a 2002 federal indictment filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Lyon Cattle Co. didn’t have 17,186 head valued at $8,914,219, but rather 5,423 head valued at $2,896,342. Likewise, Cattlemen’s Enterprises didn’t have 2,873 head valued at $1,733,351, but 1,221 head valued at $769,036. And D&L Cattle Co. followed the same track, possessing 1,136 head at a total of $707,398, instead of 1,331 head at a total of $789,430.

(Farm Journal)

Nailed for making a false statement to a bank, Lyon copped a plea for a 37-month stay in the pen and $6,082,754.29 in restitution. For many criminals, the sting of prosecution and financial liability might have triggered a tempering effect, but for Lyon, lessons learned while fudging cattle numbers became a stepping stone to bigger and badder. The native son of Perrin, now an official graduate of the Texas school of charade, was about to turn a sideshow into a three-ring circus.

A Marriage Made in Hell

When his cell doors swung wide several years after the BOA theft, Lyon exited prison and made a beeline back to independent cattle marketing. In order to keep BOA’s fingers of restitution out of his honey pot, Lyon piggybacked on the checking account of parents, Owen and Monna Lyon, at Legend Bank in Decatur. According to a 2016 federal indictment of Lyon (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas): “When Lyon received a payment related to his cattle business, O.L. (Owen) would deposit it into the Legend account. When Lyon’s cattle business needed to make a payment, M.L. (Monna) would sign the check.”

(Farm Journal)

Lyon was back to criminal escapades in short time, describes Bradshaw. “It wasn’t long before he was up to business as usual, holding a single group of cattle for three separate owners. Banks would come out to inspect for the different owners, but Tony scheduled the banks at different times, and each bank didn’t know the others had already been out there. The numbers appeared to be right, but when you put all three together it was chaos, and that was just one case he was never prosecuted for that the FBI dropped. I didn’t get involved with him until 2011, and it became one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen in my career.”

Indeed. At a sale barn in Graham, Texas, in 2011, Lyon crossed paths with Jason O’Connell, chief financial officer of aforementioned Midwestern Cattle Marketing (MCM), out of Sidney, Neb., and the pair shook on a business marriage made in hell. Still on the hook for roughly $6 million from his 2002 bust, Lyon was MCM’s new Texas point man to buy, transport, pasture, fatten and sell cattle.

Drop the Hammer

From Decatur to Breaking Ridge, and far beyond the Red River to Rattan, Okla., John Bradshaw covers 13 counties for TSCRA. With a personal background in agriculture and livestock, Bradshaw most often tackles common rustling or crimes of opportunity, i.e., a producer’s cattle stray to an adjacent property, but instead of calling the rightful owner, the neighbor shuttles the wandering cattle straight to the sale barn. Far less frequently, Bradshaw tracks white collar criminals crafting intricate schemes in the digital world, with almost no traditional paper trail to follow. However, the head-scratching Tony Lyon affair, packed with rabbit trails, was a category unto itself.

(Farm Journal)

As MCM rep, and despite being under a USDA ban from sale barn activity, Lyon’s legit role was to fill orders from ranchers for a given number of cattle. For example, MCM might call Lyon with a customer order to buy 200 steers. Lyon would enlist third-party buyers to enter sale barns, or buy from local ranchers, put the order together, and then ship the cattle to the buyer or a feed lot under the buyer’s name. All the while, Lyon used his parent’s account at Legend Bank.

As profit steadily rolled in, MCM’s confidence in Lyon’s competence grew in tandem. According to an affidavit from O’Connell, Lyon came clean about his past, detailing his BOA fraud and conviction. O’Connell, rose-colored lenses in place, expressed his willingness to give “second chances” and provided Lyon with continued latitude to conduct beef business.

O’Connell was warned about Lyon by TSCRA special rangers, and by USDA, according to Bradshaw—to no effect. “I contacted MCM and told them Tony already had a conviction, and that he was under investigation, and they said they’d fire him; they didn’t,” recalls Bradshaw. “They wouldn’t listen, and it was like watching a train wreck and not being able to stop it. In so many ways, we were forced to wait for Tony to drop the hammer.”

Money is Blindness

In late 2014, as Lyon gained traction at MCM, he claimed the system of mailing checks, invoices and approvals was a ball-and-chain time consumer, and that cattle purchases would be smoother if MCM bypassed the sale barns and dealt cattle directly through Lyon by providing a checkbook from MCM’s Point West Bank account. “Tony told them that if they’d give him a check book and a stamp, then there’d be no more time lost going back and forth,” Bradshaw describes. “MCM agreed and sent him a check book and a stamp to endorse. It was an incredible mistake by MCM and became the biggest moment of Tony’s criminal history.”

(Farm Journal)

A complaint filed by MCM in 2020 (Midwestern Cattle Marketing v. Legend Bank) provides more detail: “To accelerate the cattle transactions and transfer of funds, Tony Lyon (with authorization from the Lyons) and MCM provided each other with pre-authorized checks from their respective banks. MCM provided Tony Lyon with blank Points West checks and an MCM authorized signature stamp, and Tony Lyon (through Monna Lyon’s authorization) provided pre-signed Legend checks to MCM. This approach allowed Tony Lyon and MCM to send each other invoices for authorization to fill in the blank checks and deposit them in Points West or Legend (respectively). This arrangement essentially provided Tony Lyon with check-writing control to both accounts.”

Money is blindness, willful or not. After securing MCM’s trust, Lyon moved in for the kill, explains Bradshaw: “There’s no doubt in my mind this was a scam out of the gate. Tony saw all the angles going in, and he knew the process from start to finish...Tony had groomed MCM.”

Ping Pong over the Abyss

Brimming with confidence, Lyon was ready to go full throttle with the con. The final step was to tap a whale, and in late 2014, just when needed most, onto the scene waltzed the mysterious John George—a Texas titan of a cattle buyer from Fort Worth.

(Farm Journal)

George was the Daddy Warbucks sought by Lyon. George was the owner of George Cattle Company (GCC). George was the ultimate shaker and mover in the cattle industry. George had full trust in Tony Lyon. George had an insatiable appetite for cattle investment and wanted as many head as MCM could touch. George, despite ticking every box of business perfection, was also Lyon’s imaginary friend, and a complete fantasy masked by the glint of coin.

Even the GCC address listed in Lyon’s paperwork was counterfeit. “You literally couldn’t drive to the place because he pulled the address outta thin air,” Bradshaw says. “Tony listed GCC’s location as 4 Cherry Road or something to that effect, but the county addresses had already gone to a 911 system. If MCM or anyone would have shown the address to law enforcement, we could have spotted the fake instantly.”

Lyon’s rigged game finally had all the players in position: a big roller in George, an MCM checkbook, an MCM signature stamp, and the leverage provided by Owen and Monna Lyon’s bank account. Boiled down, Lyon blew the opening whistle on a never-ending game of robbing Peter to pay Paul—a grand check-kiting scheme between the MCM account at Points West and the Lyon family account at Legend Bank. Check-kiting takes multiple forms, but Lyon deployed it is a high-wire con where money shuffled between the two accounts to bleed the float—the gap in time from when a check is submitted as payment to when a bank moves the money from the account.

“Things went nuts from right there,” Bradshaw exclaims. “MCM was about to watch almost $100 million flying through their account in a few months, more money that what is generated by the biggest outfits. Crazy money. There were red flags everywhere, but MCM chose not to see them, even though they’d been warned.”

(Farm Journal)

In his reports to MCM, from Feb 4, 2015, to June 29, 2015, Lyon claimed 130-plus cattle purchases by George, but in plain fact, a fantasy cattle baron can only buy fantasy cattle. Lyon faxed fake, handwritten invoices to MCM from his parents’ home in Perrin. From the 2016 indictment: “Lyon made each MCM check payable to Owen Farms. Lyon told MCM that he would buy cattle on their behalf and resell them to GCC at a profit of a penny per pound. Lyon said he could speed up payments to MCM by sending them checks from Owen Farms’ Legend account, instead of having MCM wait for payment from GCC. Lyon said he’d get his money back when GCC paid.”

Lyon controlled all aspects of the cattle trade from pillar to post, including setting the sales prices and payment timing, and made sure each of the two bank accounts drank from the other. It was a total sleight-of-hand trick, and required Lyon to play ping pong over the abyss of the two accounts, navigating overdrafts and credits that ranged between $152,000 and $4.4 million, according to an MCM complaint. Each time he moved funds between the two bank accounts, Lyon dipped his fingers into each transaction—cash on the barrelhead.

A $5-Million Log

The manic cash-grab extended far past George and GCC. Lyon racked up inordinate amounts of money through side ventures, Bradshaw describes. “Tony would offer buyers lease land and wheat, totally separate from MCM, and cook the books. For example, he’d be getting money by transporting and managing 200 head that MCM had paid for four to five times—the exact same cattle. Sometimes he’d have to delay shipping because his numbers didn’t match. Maybe his customer A was supposed to ship out in June and customer B was scheduled to ship in September. That gave him several months to come up with the right amount of cattle in September, because all the numbers were make-believe.”

(Farm Journal)

MCM owned a herd of paper cattle with no backing except fraudulent invoices. “Tony was drinking through the fire hose, and he had to keep track of so many moving pieces and multiple stressors,” notes Bradshaw. “The juggling act of keeping those two bank accounts was unreal because he had to always make sure not to blow it. Most people would have been eaten up with anxiety, but he thrived. I don’t know how the sunuvabuck didn’t get an ulcer.”

Lyon was perpetually a single check from falling off the high-wire, but in a mere matter of months, he carried out at least $87 million in fake transactions centered on 50,000 head of cattle. It was a tremendously large stream of money, but the water would dam if a single log fell into the flow. In June 2015, that single log took the form of a $5 million check.

A Patterned Man

The check-kiting con required ever-increasing dollar amounts on each check to cover the heist, and when Lyon reached the $5 million mark, the numbers drew too much attention from the bank. On June 29, Points West (MCM’s account) held a $5 million check from Legend (the Lyon family account), and told MCM the cupboard was dry—no funds in the Legend account to cover the check. In sheer panic, MCM’s O’Connell burned highway all night to reach Texas, and heard the plain truth from Lyon: “There were no cattle, there was no George Cattle Company, and there was no money to turn over,” O’Connell testified. Finally, after months of hijinks, Lyon had stretched himself too thin, but in the process, he had single-handedly bankrupted MCM.

In short time, Bradshaw drove his TSCRA four-door, Ford F-150 to Lyon’s house, found Lyon standing in the driveway, and slapped on the cuffs. “He certainly had three to four accomplices, but there was never enough solid evidence to get them, and the feds chose not to file. As for Tony, I don’t know what his endgame was,” says Bradshaw. “Part of it was pure enjoyment and getting away with it. I know one thing for sure: He’d gotten in a narrow lane and the only way open was forward—no going back.”

In an echo of 2002, Lyon pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud and was sentenced to 120 months in prison and $5.1 million in restitution. Further, MCM sued Lyon and his parents (Owen and Monna) in 2017, and won a $23-plus million judgement. (Lyon still owes restitution from the 2002 case.)

Significantly, Bradshaw expects Lyon may be hit with additional penitentiary time, due to even more charges related to fraud. “He will repeat these crimes again and this affects the entire cattle industry across the country. What he’s done makes it so much harder for the next honest guy in the cattle business to get a loan.”

(Farm Journal)

And was there an accounting of all the stolen money? “Tony lived large and these kind of cases tend to move toward cash that can’t be tracked and is easy to hide, and that’s what happened here,” Bradshaw adds. “I think he might have made off with several million dollars in cash that wasn’t traced.”

Bradshaw’s sentiments regarding Lyon are roughly summarized by a time-honored maxim: Sometimes it’s easier to peek inside the mind of a liar than a person who stands by the truth. “Tony’s a patterned man, and these type of guys don’t change,” concludes Bradshaw. “If he hadn’t got caught, he would have put an even bigger dent in the cattle industry. There’s no remorse in him, and if he gets out, he’ll figure out how to do this again.”

For more stories from Chris Bennett (cbennett@farmjournal.com), see:

The Arrowhead whisperer: Stunning Indian Artifact Collection Found on Farmland

Fleecing the Farm: How a Fake Crop Fueled a Bizarre $25 Million Ag Scam

Truth, Lies, and Wild Pigs: Missouri Hunter Prosecuted on Presumption of Guilt?

US Farming Loses the King of Combines

Ghost in the House: A Forgotten American Farming Tragedy

Rat Hunting with the Dogs of War, Farming’s Greatest Show on Legs

Misfit Tractors a Money Saver for Arkansas Farmer

Predator Tractor Unleashed on Farmland by Ag’s True Maverick

Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property? Welcome to Open Fields

Farmland Detective Finds Youngest Civil War Soldier’s Grave?

Descent Into Hell: Farmer Escapes Corn Tomb Death

Evil Grain: The Wild Tale of History’s Biggest Crop Insurance Scam

Grizzly Hell: USDA Worker Survives Epic Bear Attack

A Skeptical Farmer’s Monster Message on Profitability

Farmer Refuses to Roll, Rips Lid Off IRS Behavior

Killing Hogzilla: Hunting a Monster Wild Pig

Shattered Taboo: Death of a Farm and Resurrection of a Farmer

Frozen Dinosaur: Farmer Finds Huge Alligator Snapping Turtle Under Ice

Breaking Bad: Chasing the Wildest Con Artist in Farming History

In the Blood: Hunting Deer Antlers with a Legendary Shed Whisperer

Corn Maverick: Cracking the Mystery of 60-Inch Rows

Against All Odds: Farmer Survives Epic Ordeal

Agriculture’s Darkest Fraud Hidden Under Dirt and Lies

COVID-19: Cattle Industry Losses Estimated At $13.6 Billion

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 22:45:58 GMT

DENVER (April 14, 2020) - A new study estimates cattle industry losses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic will reach $13.6 billion. The study was commissioned by NCBA and conducted by a team of industry-leading agricultural economists led by Derrell Peel, Breedlove Professor of Agribusiness and Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist at Oklahoma State University, to assist USDA in determining how best to allocate CARES Act relief funds to cattle producers.

The study shows cow-calf producers will see the largest impact, with COVID-19-related losses totaling an estimated $3.7 billion, or $111.91 per head for each mature breeding animal in the United States. Without offsetting relief payments, those losses could increase by $135.24 per mature breeding animal, for an additional impact totaling $4.45 billion in the coming years.

Stocker/backgrounder segment losses were estimated at $159.98 per head, for a total economic impact of $2.5 billion in 2020, while feeding sector losses were estimated at $3.0 billion or $205.96 per head.

“This study confirms that cattle producers have suffered massive economic damage as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and those losses will continue to mount for years to come, driving many producers to the brink of collapse and beyond if relief funds aren’t made available soon,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. “This study also clearly illustrates the fact that while the relief funds provided by Congress were a good first step, there remains a massive need for more funding to be allocated as soon as members of Congress reconvene.”

Woodall pointed out that relief funds that were meant to provide aid directly to cattle producers were divided among multiple commodities, many of which already have government programs in place to support production. However, cattle producers have always maintained their independence from government programs, and most operate today without the safety net others enjoy.

“It’s only because of the extraordinary circumstances we face today that cattle producers need relief. While we appreciate the many members of Congress who supported the cattle industry and ensured cattle producers were eligible for relief funds, we need these same members to do more to make certain every cattle producer who needs relief can access funding. That’s why we’re calling today for additional funds to be made available specifically for cattlemen and women,” said Woodall.

STUDY SUMMARY

The study conducted by Oklahoma State University estimated total beef cattle industry damages of $13.6 billion as of early April 2020. Damage estimates include:

Revenue losses of $3.7 billion in 2020 to the cow-calf sector, equivalent to $111.91/head for each mature breeding animal in the U.S. If these damages are not offset, additional long-term damages of $4.45 billion or another $135.24 per mature breeding animal will impact the cow-calf sector in coming years.
Revenue losses of $2.5 billion to the U.S. stocker/backgrounding sector in 2020, equivalent to $159.98/head.
Revenue losses of $3.0 billion to the U.S. cattle feeding sector in 2020, equivalent to $205.96/head.
The current situation is very fluid and uncertain. Additional damages are likely.

View the executive summary here .

View the full economic assessment here .

The economic damage assessment was conducted by Derrell S. Peel, Oklahoma State University; Dustin Aherin, Rabobank; Randy Blach, CattleFax; Kenneth Burdine, University of Kentucky; Don Close, Rabobank; Amy Hagerman, Oklahoma State University; Josh Maples, Mississippi State University; James Robb, Livestock Marketing Information Center; and Glynn Tonsor, Kansas State University.

Related stories:

COVID-19 System Shock

Nalivka – Is USDA Reshaping the U.S. Beef Industry?

Did I miss something or has USDA made the decision the U.S. beef industry needs to be restructured? Perhaps, I have come to the wrong conclusion too quickly, but after USDA poured $35 million dollars into expanding packing capacity with small-to-mid sized plants with grants and loans through the Meat and Poultry Expansion Program, they announced on Oct. 11, a Notice of Proposed Rule Making regarding Price Discovery and Competition in Fed Cattle Markets. I may be misinterpreting the timing, but the two seem to be aiming toward an agenda of restructuring the beef industry with small-to-mid sized packers buying cattle on the spot market.

Though I am wary of the potential outcome of the two USDA actions, I am not one to say that USDA needs to go away. The Department provides needed services for U.S. agriculture and the beef industry, including food safety, market news and information, research, trade, animal and plant health, nutrition programs, and farm lending. And yes, they do provide necessary regulatory oversight.

The packing industry, not unlike other sectors of U.S. agriculture, is driven by economies of scale. That is to expand production capacity, which in turn will reduce costs of production per unit of output. Feedlots, ranches, and farms all have consolidated and grown larger to gain those same economies. Beyond agriculture, economies of scale are a driving economic force in other industries as well. So, then the question arises; has this principle created a non-competitive situation in the beef packing industry as packers increase the number of plants and the capacity of those plants to build a profitable and thus, sustainable business? Some in the industry would say the answer may be yes. However, closely related to capacity is capacity utilization and closely related to capacity utilization is competition. The packing industry is driven by throughput capacity and the utilization of that capacity. Packers compete for cattle to accommodate that capacity just as feedlots compete for feeder cattle.

Addressing the fed beef industry, I calculate the current capacity to slaughter and process cattle is 30.3 million annually or 583,000 every week. Given the current supply of fed cattle as the result of significant herd liquidation during 2021 and 2022, the utilization of this capacity in 2024 has averaged 82.5% year-to-date compared to 87.7% during 2022.

The USDA notice discussed valued-added cattle production and pricing. Together with economies of scale, the production and marketing of value-added beef drives today’s beef industry. Marketing cattle at the ranch with genetic merit will grow increasingly important to accommodate the demand for value-added production and together with economies of scale will increasingly drive the industry. All the while, production efficiency will continue to be a limiting factor to growing cattle numbers as in past cattle cycles. The industry has adapted structurally to changing economics. We need to be careful with any discussion that might take the industry backward.