On Thursday, October 20 , Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) presented floor statements in support of the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) livestock competition rule. Earlier in the Senate floor debate, negative remarks made against the rule were made by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) and Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS). […]
Competition & Anti-trust
Court Rules Pilgrim’s Pride Violated Packers & Stockyards Act
Last week, a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a decision in Adams v. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, in which the court ruled that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (PPC) violated Section 192(e) of the Packers and Stockyards (PSA) when it closed and refused to sell a poultry processing plant in El Dorado, Arkansas […]
Livestock Marketing Fairness Act Introduced in House
This week Representative Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the Livestock Marketing Fairness Act (H.R. 2631) with Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) as a co-sponsor. The Act is a companion bill to Senate Bill 1026 introduced earlier this year. That bill also had the bipartisan of Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chuck Grassley (D-IA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), and Jon […]
Top Antitrust Official Christine Varney Leaving Justice Department
Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney has announced that she is leaving the Department of Justice to join a private law firm. Varney took over as the head of the Department’s Antitrust Division in 2009. During 2010, Varney attended the five joint workshops held by DOJ with USDA around the country on Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement […]
Articles of Note in Latest JAFSCD Issue
Among the many excellent articles contained in the latest issue of the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development are three with special relevance to NSAC’s work. An article highlighting African American farmers is available without a subscription until July 16. Access to the full issue requires a subscription, but the abstracts can be […]
House Small Business Subcommittee Hearing on GIPSA Proposed Rule
On Thursday, July 7, the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy & Trade of the House Small Business Committee held a hearing on a rule proposed by USDA’s Grain Inspection Packers & Stockyards Act (GIPSA) in response to a 2008 Farm Bill directive. The directive requires USDA to implement regulations under the Packers & Stockyards Act to […]
An Action Packed June
It’s been a busy month at NSAC with four separate advocacy campaigns put in play. On June 28th, NSAC and a broad coalition of farm, conservation, wildlife, and forestry organizations representing millions of Americans orchestrated a National Day of Action to protest huge cuts to farm bill conservation programs and an attack on local and […]
Farmers and Ranchers Call the White House
For Immediate Release: June 22, 2011 Contact: Ferd Hoefner (202) 547-5754 Farmers & Ranchers Tell the White House to Issue Final GIPSA Rule Washington, D.C. June 22, 2011. Farmers and ranchers applauded when the Obama campaign pledged to restore open and competitive markets and fair contracts for livestock and poultry producers and again when last […]
We’ve Waited Long Enough….
THREE YEARS AGO, Candidate Barack Obama promised to stand up for open and fair markets for family farm livestock producers. THREE YEARS AGO, Congress passed a farm bill directing USDA to write rules to end price discrimination against small and mid-sized farmers by corporate meatpackers and processors and to ensure fair production contracts for poultry […]
House Takes Up Agriculture Appropriations Next Week
The House of Representatives is scheduled to debate and vote on the agriculture appropriations bill for fiscal year 2012 on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 14 and 15. The measure will be in front of the House Rules Committee on Monday afternoon. At the Rules Committee, House Agriculture Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member […]
Proposed FY2012 Food and Agriculture Cuts One Step Closer to Becoming Law
On Tuesday, May 31, the full House Appropriations Committee passed its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill, which was first passed by the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee last week. If it were to become law, this bill would make truly massive cuts to conservation, extension, research, renewable energy, and rural development programs. A number […]
House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Passes FY2012 Funding Bill
On Tuesday, March 24, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies passed by voice vote its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill, which would cut USDA and FDA discretionary programs by 13.4 percent on top of a similar amount in the FY 2011 bill completed last month. […]
House FY2012 Appropriations Bill Would Slash Conservation, Rural Development, and Research Programs
On Monday, May 23, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies released a draft of its fiscal year (FY) 2012 agriculture appropriations bill. The Subcommittee will debate, potentially amend, and almost certainly pass the bill on Tuesday during an afternoon markup. Before the bill can become law, […]
Senators Introduce Bill to Protect Livestock Farmers and Ranchers from Packer Price Manipulation
On Thursday, May 19, Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chuck Grassley (D-IA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced a bill (S. 1026) with measures to protect independent livestock farmers and ranchers from price manipulation by packers and processors. Senators Enzi, Grassley, and Johnson co-sponsored a similar bill in 2009. The Livestock Marketing Fairness Act […]
House Members Join Big Packers’ Effort to Deny Justice to Farmers and Ranchers
On Monday, May 29, a letter signed by 147 members of the House of Representatives was delivered to USDA Secretary Vilsack urging him to withdraw a proposed fair competition rule issued on June 22, 2010. The anti-farmer and rancher letter was sent despite containing a major factual inaccuracy that was called to the attention of […]
NSAC Joins 160 Organizations to Urge Release of Report on Antitrust – Regulatory Enforcement Workshops
On Wednesday, May 11, NSAC joined 160 organizations on a letter urging USDA and the Department of Justice to complete and release a report on the findings from five workshops held in 2010 on antitrust issues and regulatory enforcement in farm and food sectors. Hundreds of farmers and ranchers attended the workshops held across the […]
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Jury Award to Poultry Growers
On Monday, May 2, the U.S. Supreme Court declined, without comment, a petition of certiorari to review a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the case O.K. Industries v. Been. The Appeals Court upheld a federal jury award of $14.5 million to poultry growers from a poultry processor because of the processor’s violations of […]
Don’t Sign This
A small handful of giant meatpackers and processors have been underpaying and unfairly treating farmers and ranchers for decades. 10 months ago USDA issued a proposed livestock and poultry rule (also called the “GIPSA” rule) that would rein in some of their worst practices The big meat packers and processors have lobbied hard against these […]
Letter to Congress in Support of Increased Fairness for Farmers and Ranchers
This week, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition joined a total of 144 organizations from around the country on a letter delivered to members of Congress urging them to support a fair competition rule proposed by USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). USDA issued the proposed rule in response to directives from Congress in […]
House Hearing on the State of the Poultry Industry
On Wednesday, April 13, the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry of the House Agriculture Committee held a hearing on the State of the Poultry Industry. The three witnesses included a Virginia poultry grower representing the Virginia Poultry Federation, the chairman of an Iowa turkey processing company testifying on behalf the National Turkey Federation, and […]
House Agriculture Subcommittee Hearing on the Beef Industry
On Wednesday, April 6, the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy & Poultry held a hearing on the state of the beef industry. The hearing panel was limited to a Vice-President of Cargill and two officers of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Jim Strickland and Anne Burkholder. Not surprisingly, given NCBA’s opposition, all […]
GIPSA Briefings in House and Senate
On February 28, 2011, briefings on the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule were held in both the Senate and House. Chandler Goule of the National Farmers Union moderated a panel of producers in favor of the rule: Mike Weaver, a contract poultry producer in West Virginia for Pilgrim’s Pride; Dan Hodges, […]
National Beginning Farmer Survey, Have You Participated?
Data on the challenges faced by today’s young and beginning farmers is hard to come by. That’s why the National Young Farmers’ Coalition, in partnership with the Greenhorns and Beginningfarmers.org, is conducting a national survey to understand what’s working for beginning farmers, what’s not, and what policies they’d like to see in the next Farm […]
Organic Seed Alliance Releases “State of Organic Seed” Report
On February 16, 2011, the Organic Seed Alliance (OSA) released a survey-based report entitled State of Organic Seed: Advancing the Viability and Integrity of Organic Seed Systems. The report serves as the first comprehensive analysis of the organic seed sector. Although the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) requires the use of organic seed when commercially […]