FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition lzaks@sustainableagriculture.net Tel. 347.563.6408 Release: NSAC Applauds Final Rule to Bring Fairness to Poultry Tournament System Washington, DC, January 14, 2025 – The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauded Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for today’s announcement of a new final rule under the Packers and […]
Packers and Stockyards Act
Summer in Saint Paul: NSAC Members Meet, Reenergize in Minnesota
NSAC members gathered once again for our annual summer Coalition meeting, this time on the banks of the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota on August 5-8, 2024. Over the course of the meeting, NSAC members and staff strategized collectively about current campaigns and future Coalition activities. NSAC members also had the chance to hear […]
FY25 Agriculture Spending Bills: What You Need to Know
On July 11, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill with unanimous, bipartisan agreement. The Senate Appropriations Committee skipped subcommittee markup this fiscal year, and the full committee’s unanimous approval took less than 10 minutes (59:00 – 1:07:54). This outcome […]
Release: NSAC Welcomes Proposed “Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets” Rule
Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauded United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack for publishing another proposed rule to modernize the century-old Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act): “Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets.” This is the fourth rule to implement reforms first announced in President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy in 2022. … Read More →
Release (Cross-Post): CCAR Praises Secretary Vilsack on the Proposed Rule to Infuse Basic Fairness Requirements into Poultry Grower Payments Systems and Capital Upgrade Requirements
In this cross-post, NSAC shares a press statement by Steve Etka, Policy Director for the Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform CCAR in support of the USDA’s Packers and Stockyards Act proposed rule on “Poultry Grower Payment Systems and Capital Improvement Systems.”… Read More →
Release: NSAC Applauds Final Rule on Inclusive Competition and Market Integrity Under the Packers and Stockyards Act
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition applauded Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for the publication of a final rule: Inclusive Competition and Market Integrity Under the Packers and Stockyards Act. This is the final policy from USDA to modernize the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&SA) following a public comment period to a proposed rule in 2022, a process set in-motion by President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. … Read More →
Riders in the Night: Harmful Provisions in the House Spending Bill
Funding for USDA and three other federal departments is set to expire at midnight March 1, absent congressional approval of a FY24 appropriations bill, or an extension of current funding. Amidst final-hour congressional negotiations to fend off a shutdown, several policy “riders” have emerged as sticking points in reaching a deal on agriculture spending in particular. This post examines several proposed policy riders as Congress seeks to conclude FY24 appropriations negotiations…. Read More →
Secretary Vilsack Underscores Priorities for USDA to House Agriculture Committee
In a hearing before the House Agriculture Committee, Secretary Vilsack highlighted the importance of climate investments, efforts to better support underserved producers, the need for increased staffing at USDA, and how funds allocated through the IRA will address conservation backlogs for farmers across the nation…. Read More →
Release: New USDA Proposed Rule to Give Livestock and Poultry Growers Fair Shake
Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition applauded Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for the publication of a new proposed rule to modernize the century-old Packers and Stockyards Act: “Inclusive Competition and Market Integrity Under the Packers and Stockyards Act.” This is the second of three expected rules first announced in President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy and arrives on the heels of a proposed rule to bring transparency to the poultry tournament system published in June.
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Comment: NSAC Responds to the Lower Food and Fuel Cost Act – H.R. 7606
NSAC applauds the House for taking decisive action to support the creation of a USDA special investigator to enforce fair-play rules in the highly concentrated meatpacking industry when they passed the Lower Food and Fuel Cost Act – H.R. 7606 on Thursday. … Read More →
Release: NSAC Applauds Proposed Rule to Reform Poultry Tournament Payment System
Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition applauded Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for the publication of a long-awaited proposed rule regarding “Transparency in Poultry Growing Contracts and Tournaments.” This is the first of several expected rules to strengthen the century-old Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA) announced in President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. … Read More →
Heart and Soil: Farmer Advocate Rosie Burroughs Calls on Congressmembers to Take Climate Action
“Anytime you want to talk about enthusiasm on soils, talk to Rosie,” affirmed Representative Jim Costa (D-CA), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture. At the February 3rd hearing “Sustainability in the Livestock Sector: Environmental Gain and Economic Viability” regenerative agriculture took center stage through the eyes and voice of Rosie Burroughs, matriarch of Burroughs Family Farms in the San Joaquin Valley of California…. Read More →
Livestock and Poultry Competition Reform on the Horizon
Livestock consolidation and concentration have been gaining traction in Washington, D.C. Last month, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, signaling a whole of government effort to address concentration and consolidation in US markets. Several initiatives announced could have a far-reaching impact on agriculture, including the intent to strengthen […]
RELEASE: NSAC Applauds USDA Announcement of $500 Million for Expanded Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Laura Zaks, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalitionpress@sustainableagriculture.net RELEASE: NSAC Applauds USDA Announcement of $500 Million for Expanded Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity Washington, DC, July 9, 2021 – Today the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) applauds the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcement of $500 million in additional funding to bolster small- and […]
Undo the Packers and Stockyards “Undue Preference” Final Rule
In the waning days of the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a final rule on the undue or unreasonable preference provision, Section 202(b), of the Packers & Stockyards Act of 1921 (P&SA). Unfortunately, the rule fails to protect livestock and poultry farmers from the abusive and exploitative practices that have become […]
Farmers are Shouting; USDA Should Listen
Consolidation of the livestock sector has severely damaged competitive markets, livestock producer livelihoods, and rural qualities of life. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) and our allies have long fought against this trend, and secured many significant victories for family farmers; ensuring, for example, that the 2008 Farm Bill require the Packers and Stockyards Act […]
RELEASE: NSAC Comment on Harris Rider (“GIPSA Rider”)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Ferd Hoefner, 202-547-5754 FHoefner@sustainableagriculture.net NSAC Press Statement on Passage of Harris Amendment We are deeply disturbed by the passage of the Harris amendment to prohibit USDA from protecting farmers as provided by the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 against anticompetitive, deceptive, fraudulent, retaliatory and other abusive business practices by […]
Congressional Appropriators Support a Level Playing Field for Contract Farmers
Yesterday, eight Congressional Appropriators signed on to a letter to United States Agriculture Department (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, thanking him for moving forward with rules to protect contract livestock and poultry producers from unfair and retaliatory practices. The letter, signed by four Senate and four House agriculture appropriators, comes on the heels of Secretary Vilsack’s […]
What is the “GIPSA Rider” and why is the House once again attacking farmers’ rights?
A legislative rider tacked onto the 2015 agriculture funding bill will strip USDA’s ability to protect farmers rights… Read More →
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 […]