Justice and Agriculture departments holding first agribusiness anti-trust meeting today

UPDATE: Attorney General Eric Holder told the meeting, “We’ve learned the hard way that long periods of reckless deregulation have restricted competition and harmed farmers. We must now examine what we know for sure. It’s harder for farmers to stay in business.” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the series of meetings “is about rural America, and what can be done to stop its decline.” For blog postings from Dan Piller of the Des Moines Register, click here.

The Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture are hosting the first in yearlong series of public meetings about anti-competitive practices in agribusiness today in Ankeny, Iowa. "The meetings are intended to allow producers, competitors and activists to air their concerns about the grain, poultry, dairy and livestock industries," P. J. Huffstutter of the Los Angeles Times reports. "The government is also trying to ferret out reasons for the sometimes vast gaps between what farmers are paid for producing food and the prices shoppers pay at the grocery store."

Some experts point to the rising price of seed as a factor in rising food prices, Huffstutter reports. Four companies control 50 percent of the world's proprietary seeds for major crops, with Monsanto Co. leading the charge. The Justice Department has launched an investigation into anti-trust allegations against Monsanto concerning its Roundup Ready seeds. You can read our most recent report on that here. At least three state attorneys general are also investigating anti-trust claims against Monsanto.

"There's a growing sentiment in this White House administration that competition, and the lack of it, is getting to be a serious problem in the food sector," Neil E. Harl, an Iowa farmer and a retired Iowa State University economics professor, told Huffstutter. "The question will be whether the government will, after these hearings, take a more active approach." (Read more)