The Obama administration is pushing back against critics of its plans to overhaul fair-play rules for livestock marketing, saying opposition to the rules “demonstrates a complete lack of concern for honest, hard-working families.” Congress repeatedly blocked USDA from issuing the rules but USDA has a window of opportunity that may close at the end of September, says DTN.
The precise content of the rules is not known. DTN says USDA intends to issue at least three separate rules, rather than the broad-ranging regulation that was debated in 2010. One of them would make it easier for poultry producers to prove a packer discriminated against them unfairly. Another would set some requirements for how poultry processors determine how much to pay producers under the widely used “tournament” system. A third rule would apply to cattle and hogs and addresses the question whether special premiums paid by processors to producers create an undue advantage.
Cattle and hog groups said the USDA proposals would disrupt livestock markets and could result in packers deciding to own livestock rather than contract with farmers and ranchers. The House Appropriations Committee included a rider against the USDA rules in its funding bill for USDA for the fiscal year that opens on Oct 1.
To read testimony or watch a video of a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on the condition of the livestock sector, click here.