The Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday passed an amendment to its version of the 2007 farm bill that would prohibit packers from owning livestock for more than 14 days before slaughter.

Under the proposed amendment to the Packers and Stockyards Act, packers could not, "own or feed livestock directly, through a subsidiary, or through an arrangement that gives the packer operational, managerial, or supervisory control over the livestock, or over the farming operation that produces the livestock."

The amendment was one of several passed without debate. The full text of the "en bloc amendment" can be found on the Senate Agriculture Committee Web site.

Such language was not included in the House version of the 2007 farm bill. The Senate proposed a similar provision in the 2002 farm bill, but it was stripped out before the legislation was approved.

By Janie Gabbett on 10/25/2007 for Meatingplace.com