Last Friday U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer of Nashville nullified the $140 million settlement agreement between Dean Foods and a group of Southeastern dairy farmers, furthering the debate on the government's role in agriculture, Agri-Pulse reports, saying the case is at "the heart of farming's cultural divide" between small and large farmers and the ruling is a microcosm of the basic dispute about the role of government in agriculture." (Agri-Pulse image)Greer's decision upheld a decade-old precedent regarding class-action lawsuits, set in the landmark case between cattle growers and a meatpacker. The precedent says class actions cannot proceed when some members of the class "benefit from the same acts alleged to be harmful to other members," Agri-Pulse reports.
While the Dean Foods case is currently unsettled – scheduled to go to trial Sept. 13 – Greer's "ruling is an important vindication for the notion that it's legitimate to have a full-requirements contract in the dairy industry or a formal contract for hogs or cattle even if some farmers won't, or can't meet the terms of the agreements and don't benefit," Agri-Pulse reports. The ruling may also show why Department of Justice anti-trust lawyers have been criticized for their lack of action against consolidation and integration of the livestock and meatpacking industries following last year's nationwide public hearings.
The Department of Agriculture's proposal to more closely regulate livestock and poultry marketing to protect small farmers is facing opposition from growers who support similar contract arrangements that will become more difficult with government involvement. USDA support of organic and small farms generates controversy, as some see "the administration as favoring" these farmers when policy disagreements arise with conventional and commerical-scale producers, reports Agri-Pulse, a Washington newsletter that is subscription-only but offers a four-week trial subscription.
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