BISMARCK – The North Dakota Department of Agriculture is seeking a $49,000 judgment against the North American Bison Cooperative on allegations the co-op failed to pay for cattle purchased from six ranchers, according to The Associated Press.

The cattle were intended for the North Dakota Natural Beef processing plant in Fargo that closed in August, according to AP. The state’s agriculture commissioner said the co-op owes the fine for not paying ranchers roughly $325,000 by June 2012.

Lenders announced in December plans to foreclose on the facility. In April, the bison co-op and ND Natural Beef were assessed civil penalties by the US Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) for failing to pay and failing to pay, when due, the full purchase price of livestock.