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 […]
Competition & Anti-trust
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 […]
Love Your Farmer Day A Huge Success
With your help, over 1,000 calls were made to the White House this week in response to the Love Your Farmer Campaign launched on Valentine’s Day. The callers urged the Obama Administration to quickly implement a rule that promises to improve the lives of farmers and ranchers and the prosperity of rural communities by making […]
A Valentine for Farmers and Ranchers
Fighting against the corporate concentration of our food supply is an ongoing battle. Today, you can make a difference. A small handful of giant meatpackers and processors have been underpaying and unfairly treating farmers and ranchers for decades. Please take a few moments of your day this Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday to call the White […]
Senators Leahy, Grassley Press USDA, DOJ to Follow Up on 2010 Agriculture Competition Workshops
On Wednesday, February 9, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) submitted a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) follow up on the series of workshops held in 2010 regarding […]
House Agriculture Committee Re-Organizes
As often happens following elections that shift the party in the majority, the new Republican leadership of the House Agriculture Committee reorganized the panel’s subcommittees. As we previously have reported, Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) is the new Chair of the Full Committee, and former Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has been named Vice Chair. There are […]
Vilsack Reaffirms “Good Faith” Process for GIPSA Rule
On Monday, December 13, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack held an open meeting reaffirming USDA’s commitment to a “serious” and “good faith” analysis of all comments received on the proposed GIPSA rule in order to produce a “fair, feasible and common-sense rule.” The Secretary gave an an overview of the rulemaking process for the proposed rule, […]
Farmers Speak Out for Fair Competition at DoJ-USDA Workshop
Farmers and ranchers spoke out loudly and clearly about the need for fair competition during the fifth and final US Department of Justice-USDA workshops on Concentration and Regulatory Enforcement in Agriculture on Wednesday, December 8. The focus of this DC workshop was the negative impacts on farmers and ranchers arising from the drastically shrinking number […]
DoJ-USDA Workshop on Farmer & Rancher Margins
The fifth and final Department of Justice/USDA workshop on concentration and competition issues in agriculture will be held in Washington D.C. on December 8, 2010. These five workshops are intended to examine in detail the impacts on U.S farmers and ranchers as fewer and larger corporations have gained control of markets for agricultural inputs and […]
GIPSA Rule Comment Period Ends
The 150 day public comment period on the livestock and poultry competition and contract fairness rule proposed by USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) closed on Monday, November 23. There were over 46,000 public submissions as of November 17 and in all likelihood the final number will exceed 50,000. The sheer magnitude demonstrates […]
Agriculture Committees Hear Pro-GIPSA Rule Testimony from Producers
The National Farmers Union organized briefings for the Senate and House Agriculture Committees in support of the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule this week, giving committee members and staffers the opportunity to hear testimony from pork, poultry, and beef producers. The briefing panel consisted of Craig Watts, a contract poultry grower […]
National Farmers Union and R-CALF Respond to Industry-backed GIPSA Study
On Wednesday, November 10, the National Farmers Union, Ranchers-Cattleman United Legal Fund (R-CALF), and Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) held a press conference in support of the Agriculture Department’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) proposed rule. The press conference coincided with the release of a new study by Informa Economics, commissioned by meatpacker […]
Vilsack Responds to Letter from Representatives on GIPSA Rule
On October 1, 115 House members submitted a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack requesting additional economic analysis of the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule. Earlier this week, Vilsack responded to the representatives, assuring them that the regular process of rulemaking would take place and all the rulemaking requirements are being […]
Farmers Win Challenge to Damage Award for Company’s Unfair Practices
On October 13, in the case Been v. O.K. industries, Inc., the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury award of damages under the Packers & Stockyards Act (PSA) of over $14,000,000 to a group of poultry farmers. The farmers had contracts with OK Farms, one of the nation’s largest poultry processors, to […]
National Agricultural Law Center to Host Webinar on Proposed GIPSA Rules
On Thursday, October 14, the National Agricultural Law Center (NALC) will host a webinar from 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. EST on the rules proposed by USDA’s Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). NALC staff attorneys will provide an overview of GIPSA’s proposed rule changes for poultry and livestock, review the rulemaking process, explain […]
USDA Moves to Outlaw Unfair Trade Practices
by Margaret Krome (reprinted from The Capital Times, Madison, WI) When our daughter was little, she loved our drives to southwest Wisconsin, kicking her feet up and down in excitement as we neared one particular farm, where we always saw hogs wallowing in the mud in the low spots. At some times of the year, […]
Reverse Corporate Control Over the Livestock Industry
The recent developments in the livestock industry have highlighted the issue of mega meatpackers and poultry processors controlling the market, leading to price manipulation and unfair trade practices. Despite this issue being overlooked by the USDA in the past, there has been a significant shift in June. The Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) […]
Livestock Market Concentration Workshop Held in CO
On Friday, August 27, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, presided over joint USDA and Department of Justice hearings to examine competition in the livestock market. Held in Fort Collins, Colorado, this was the fourth in a series of workshops to discuss market consolidation and market transparency. According to the […]
Farmers Ask for Fair Markets and Contracts
In June, the USDA’s Office of Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards (GIPSA) issued a proposed rule that promises to finally rein in some of the worst anti-competitive abuses of meat packers and impose a measure of contract fairness for poultry producers. Lauded by NSAC and many major farm organizations the rules have the potential to […]
Senators Support USDA’s Comprehensive GIPSA Proposed Rule
On Friday, August 13, twenty-one Senators from joined on a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack in support of a proposed rule to clarify and strengthen the protections for farmers and ranchers provided in the Packers and Stockyards Act. The letter was sponsored by Senators Tom Harkin (IA) and Tim Johnson (SD). A copy of the letter […]