The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants to overhaul its Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration regulations aimed at protecting producers from unfair practices by meatpackers.
"Several farmer advocacy groups, however, argue the proposal doesn’t go far enough to ensure a competitive landscape in the increasingly consolidated meat and poultry sector," Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture. "As the industry rapidly consolidates, producers say they need more legal options for challenging unfair and discriminatory practices by conglomerates."
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue's proposed rule would lay out new, narrower criteria to determine when actions by meatpackers and large livestock dealers are considered unfair to farmers who raise livestock. "It outlines four factors to determine whether actions by meatpackers is so unfair that it harms a farmer’s success, like negotiating higher prices with a favored livestock supplier for no justifiable business reason," McCrimmon reports. But Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union said the rule doesn't go far enough, won't likely protect farmers, and doesn't address other power imbalances between producers and corporations.
The 2008 Farm Bill ordered more protective GIPSA rules for such contract farmers, and the Obama administration repeatedly tried to finalize those rules. However, the Trump administration scrapped the Obama-era rules in October 2017, arguing that they would lead to too many lawsuits.
"Several farmer advocacy groups, however, argue the proposal doesn’t go far enough to ensure a competitive landscape in the increasingly consolidated meat and poultry sector," Ryan McCrimmon reports for Politico's Morning Agriculture. "As the industry rapidly consolidates, producers say they need more legal options for challenging unfair and discriminatory practices by conglomerates."
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue's proposed rule would lay out new, narrower criteria to determine when actions by meatpackers and large livestock dealers are considered unfair to farmers who raise livestock. "It outlines four factors to determine whether actions by meatpackers is so unfair that it harms a farmer’s success, like negotiating higher prices with a favored livestock supplier for no justifiable business reason," McCrimmon reports. But Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union said the rule doesn't go far enough, won't likely protect farmers, and doesn't address other power imbalances between producers and corporations.
The 2008 Farm Bill ordered more protective GIPSA rules for such contract farmers, and the Obama administration repeatedly tried to finalize those rules. However, the Trump administration scrapped the Obama-era rules in October 2017, arguing that they would lead to too many lawsuits.
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