Agricultural News
Still No Sign on GIPSA Rule From Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack
Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:05:22 CDT
Farmers and ranchers across the country are anxiously awaiting some sort of movement on the well-known Grain Inspection, Packer and Stockyards Administration rule, also known as GIPSA. We sat down with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and discussed the GIPSA rule and an overview of the process so far.
Click on the LISTEN bar below to hear Ron Hays talk with Agriculture Secretary Vilsack on the GIPSA rule.
The original GIPSA rule was published in June of 2010, with a comment period lasting only until August 2010. However, the comment period was extended by the USDA to last November, allowing farmers, ranchers, and agricultural organizations a much longer period of time to voice their opinions on the rule. There were 66,000 comments made on the rule and Secretary Vilsack says many of the comments were unique and not formed letters, which he says you often see rules.
Throughout this process, the livestock industry demanded that Secretary Vilsack and the USDA perform a cost benefit analysis on the GIPSA rule. Since then, USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber has performed this cost benefit analysis but no one has seen a copy of the report yet.
Many people in Congress and in the livestock industry have requested to see the cost benefit analysis report and offer comments before the final rule is published. Secretary Vilsack has currently said no to this request and plans to release the final rule with changes based on the original 66,000 comments and the cost benefit analysis only.
As many still patiently wait for some sign of the direction the GIPSA rule is going, Secretary Vilsack asks people to realize that this is an elaborate process not only internally through the USDA but also within the interagency process as well. Vilsack also adds that he hopes people understand that USDA is taking this rule and the comments very seriously and they want to do the very best job in making decisions.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the listen bar below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...