WASHINGTON – Tallgrass Beef Company LLC was assessed a $402,816.53 civil penalty for failure to pay livestock suppliers and other infractions, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

The company was ordered to cease and desist from:

• failing to pay, when due, the full purchase price of livestock;

• engaging in the business of a packer when its financial condition does not meet the requirements of the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act; and

• engaging in the business of a packer without maintaining a bond or bond equivalent.

The civil penalty can be reduced dollar-for-dollar by restitution made by Tallgrass to its unpaid livestock suppliers, up to a total reduction of $352,816.53, according to GIPSA. However, the remaining civil penalty, for which restitution has not been made, will become due in full immediately if Tallgrass fails to satisfy the penalty payment terms.

The company will request that the Administrative Law Judge reduce the civil penalty dollar-for-dollar for restitution made if the satisfies the penalty payment terms, GIPSA said.