United States Department of Agriculture Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyard Administration (USDA-GIPSA)
President Peterson urges farmers to comment on the GIPSA propsed rule change
John F. Kennedy once said, "The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways." The dinner tables of America need farmers to receive a fair price, and that is why Minnesota Farmers Union (MFU) was pleased to hear that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a proposed rule change to the Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).
The proposed rule would bring common sense to GIPSA and change the current system of how livestock are procured and marketed by meat packers. The rule includes several new provisions that will grant protection to producers from previous marketing barriers, which have favored the packers, with a goal of defining and changing unfair and unreasonable practices in the industry.
Advocating for fair, transparent and competitive markets has always been a core issue for MFU, and these proposed rule changes is a step in the right direction. MFU is pleased to see that finally there is a legitimate department and administration level proposal to correct the many years of one-sided marketing that farmers have faced when selling their farm products.
Key elements that MFU supports are:
Additional contracting rules for poultry growers spelled out
(December 18, 2009) - Last week's column dealt with the United States Department of Agriculture Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyard Administration's (USDA-GIPSA) rationale for issuing the final rule that establishes four new rules covering contracts in the poultry industry. In its analysis, USDA-GIPSA noted the highly concentrated nature of the poultry industry and the asymmetry of information between the live poultry dealers and the growers who are under contract to them.
Also noted was the large amount of money that growers have invested in their "poultry houses, which have a limited value for purposes other than raising and caring for poultry."
The rationale given by USDA-GIPSA also indicated the large number of individuals who were available to advise the poultry dealers with regards to the contents of the poultry contracts they offered.
Lastly, USDA-GIPSA recognized that despite the large investments made by growers, there were times in which growers were not provided the terms of the agreement in a timely fashion.