Agricultural News
NFU, R-Calf and USCA Cheer Obama Administration's Interim Final GIPSA Rule Release
Wed, 14 Dec 2016 14:31:23 CST
The National Farmers Union, RCalf- USA and the US Cattlemen's Association all like the interim final rule released today by USDA that broadens the reach of the 1921 Packers and Stockyards Act. Each of the groups have released statements offering their praise for the USDA releasing this rule thirty five days ahead of the end of the Obama Presidency.
National Farmers Union
National Farmers Union (NFU) is pleased by today's announcement that the long-awaited Farmer Fair Practices Rules, which aim to level the playing field for family livestock producers and poultry growers, have been released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).
The Farmer Fair Practices Rules include an interim final rule that gives producers protection against unfair or discriminatory contract practices and two proposed rules that provide oversight for pricing and payment practices.
"For too long, family livestock producers and poultry growers have endured a heavily concentrated market with little protection against unfair, anti-competitive practices. We are glad that this important set of rules is finally moving forward," said NFU President Roger Johnson. "While the Farmer Fair Practice Rules do not fix all of the fraudulent practices in the livestock and poultry industries, these rules are certainly an important step in the right direction."
A provision was included in the 2008 Farm Bill, authorizing USDA to improve GIPSA regulations; however, until recently, lawmakers repeatedly blocked the funding needed for USDA to finalize these protection rules for family farmers.
"Both producers and consumers benefit when the markets are competitive and the practices and process are transparent. We look forward to thoughtfully reviewing the published rules and providing feedback to ensure the final rules will work for family farmers," Johnson concluded.
R-Calf USA:
The Fair Practices Rules, previously known as the GIPSA rules, are intended to facilitate competition in the livestock and poultry markets. The rules were first proposed in 2010 but met fierce opposition by meatpacker lobbyists who succeed in blocking the rules through several back-to-back appropriations bills.
"The Trump Administration should support these rules because they are vital to reversing the ongoing decline of our U.S. cattle industry," said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.
Bullard said the U.S. cattle industry is declining at an alarming rate. He said over half a million cattle farms, ranches and feedlots have exited the industry since 1980, the size of the U.S. cattle herd recently hit a 60-year low, and the volume of beef produced from U.S. cattle has fallen to a 20-year low.
"Our industry's decline is not the result of any natural phenomenon or legitimate economic force; it's the result of a failure to use the laws we have to protect competition. The new rules are aimed at implementing those critical protections," Bullard said.
Bullard explained that Congress passed the PSA 95 years ago to establish a legal framework within which a small number of concentrated meatpackers would compete for cattle sold by hundreds of thousands of widely dispersed cattle producers. He said this framework consisted of clearly defined rules of competition to ensure fairness despite the disparity in economic power between cattle sellers and cattle buyers.
"Unfortunately, the largest meatpackers and the producer groups to which they belong thwarted every effort by the USDA to finalize rules to implement the decade's old legal framework," Bullard said.
One of the proposed rules would clarify what the PSA meant by language prohibiting meatpackers from engaging in unfair, unjustly discriminatory or deceptive practices and from making or giving "any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage" to some market participants but not to all.
Bullard said the undue preferences prohibited by the PSA are also known as "sweetheart deals" that meatpackers grant to preferred feedlots while other feedlots go broke because they are relegated to selling their cattle in a market void of competition.
US Cattlemen's Association:
Following today's announcement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Cattlemen's Association (USCA) issued the following statement from USCA Marketing Committee Chairman Allan Sents:
"Today marks an important step to advance competition and true price discovery in the cattle market. The Farmer Fair Practices Rules will seek to restore order in the marketplace, allowing the USDA to maintain their oversight role and prevent anti-competitive buying practices in the livestock sector. We applaud Secretary Vilsack and the Obama Administration for moving forward with the rule-making and comment period. We look forward to reviewing the proposals as clarifications and definitions are direly needed within the Packers and Stockyards Act."
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