Several of America’s leading farm groups differ on the USDA’s proposal to consider three new rules to strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act. National Farmers Union President Rob Larew told the Hagstrom Report that, “Shielding farmers from corporate abuse was one of the main objectives for Farmers Union since it was established.
The publication of these planned administrative actions is a step in the right direction. Family Farm Action Alliance President Joe Maxwell says, “Past failures to adequately strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act left the regulatory environment a haven for consolidation.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is less than enthusiastic. “As we did in 2010 and again last year, NCBA will fight hard to ensure that any regulations created or revised under the Packers and Stockyards Act do not reduce cattle producers’ ability to realize higher profits and make the decisions that are best for them.”
North American Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts points out that the concepts in the three USDA proposals were rejected by eight federal appellate courts. “They were a bad idea in 2010, in 2016, and a bad idea in 2021,” she says.