Agricultural News
NCBA Says GIPSA "Deader Than a Doornail" After Secretary Sonny Perdue Dealt the Final Kill Shot
Fri, 20 Oct 2017 12:55:10 CDT
Just this week, US Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue made the final decision to at last, officially withdraw the so called GIPSA rule, left over from the Obama administration that first appeared in the 2008 Farm Bill. The regulation's intended purpose was to create fairness in the markets and level the playing field between producers and packers. Over the years, some have been for the regulation - mostly populist groups like the National Farmers Union, RCALF-USA and the US Cattlemen's Association. Those opposing it have included the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council and the National Chicken Council. And, stuck in the middle - the American Farm Bureau Federation. Whatever your politics, though, the rule is no more and Colin Woodall, NCBA's lead lobbyist, told Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays that although it has been a long battle, he is glad Perdue pulled the plug on GIPSA.
"(GIPSA) was USDA's opportunity to get right in the middle of cattle marketing," Woodall explained. "In essence, it would tell cattle producers how they could or could not market their cattle. And, they did so by trying to define what is fair. We can all agree that the last group we want defining fairness is the US government - regardless the administration."
By ridding the USDA of this rule, Woodall says that producers can go back and run their operations as they see fit. He says it will allow ranchers to be able to focus on the value-added marketing programs that their industry has spent so many years trying to build. And, the good news is that even though there have been multiple unsuccessful attempts to quell this rule, Woodall says Perdue's decision this time is final and it won't be able to be resurrected.
"The decision made by Sec. Perdue to withdraw this rule is the final kill shot, so it is deader than a doornail," he remarked. "Sec. Perdue understood the impact it was going to have on our marketing opportunities and we just can't thank him enough for his decision to protect our ability to market cattle how we want to, where we want to and under the circumstances that make us the most money possible."
Listen to Woodall and Hays discuss Secretary Perdue's decision to officially withdraw the GIPSA rules, on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is 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.
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