Buoyed by a Biden administration pledge to vigorously police agricultural mergers, the National Farmers Union launched the nationwide “Fairness for Farmers” campaign on Wednesday to restore competition in the marketplace. “This endeavor has clear goals: to curtail consolidation in agriculture and bust the monopolies, which negatively impact farmers, ranchers, and consumers,” said NFU president Rod Larew.
“I do believe we are in for a fight. The giants who dominate our food and agriculture industry are not going to be toppled without a struggle.”
Although the names vary by sector, a relative handful of companies dominate cattle, hog, and poultry slaughter; hybrid seed sales; farm equipment manufacturing; pesticide production; and corn and soybean processing.
Critics say the large companies can control the marketplace, pointing to, as an example, the early months of the pandemic, when farmers were paid less for livestock but consumers paid more for meat at the grocery store. Meatpackers say that rather than manipulation, the disparity was the result of Covid-19 outbreaks that slowed or temporarily halted work at big processing plants.
The NFU called for the robust enforcement of antitrust laws, the creation of a more resilient food chain that includes smaller and local meat plants, stronger fair-play rules in livestock markets, greater transparency in livestock pricing, and the return of country-of-origin labels on beef packages. “Put that label on there. Give the consumer a choice” between U.S. and imported meat, said Gary Wertish, president of the Minnesota Farmers Union.
President Biden signed an executive order in July directing the USDA to rejuvenate the livestock, seed, fertilizer, and retail food markets. “Big Ag is putting a squeeze on farmers,” said Biden in signing the government-wide order. It called on the FTC to adopt right-to-repair rules so farmers can fix their own tractors when there is a software problem.
“We are working with USDA and other agencies to fight excessive concentration in other agricultural markets, too, including markets for seeds, fertilizer, feed, pesticides, and equipment,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta after citing the proposed livestock regulations during a speech to the NFU on Tuesday. “These industries have a significant impact on the ability of small and independent farmers to make a living. We will therefore vigorously police mergers that may lessen competition in these and other markets, such as our successful challenge to JBS’ proposed acquisition of National Beef.”
Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a Farmers Union member, said the biggest threat in rural America was “the ongoing consolidation that … has touched every piece of the ag economy, from grains and inputs to meatpacking.” Tester is a sponsor of bills for mandatory meat labeling and to appoint a powerful special investigator in the USDA agency that oversees livestock markets. Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s attorney general, said his office was giving priority to agricultural consolidation. “We have got to acknowledge that our family farmers are really being cut down by the corporate consolidation in the agricultural sectors that suck all the profits out of farming,” he said.
With “Fairness for Farmers,” the NFU, the second-largest U.S. farm group, aims to build coalitions in support of stronger pro-competition laws, said Larew. “This is not just the Farmers Union. We will be working with those who feel the same and want to see change.”
For the NFU’s “Fairness for Farmers” web page, click here.