Last Week's Livestock Hearing on Competition

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Aug 31, 2010 at 13:13:43 PM PDT

Predictably, the American Meat Institute (AMI) came out with a statement after the hearing, claiming that economies of scale calls for larger (and thus, fewer) slaughterhouses and that the concentration in the beef industry has not increased since 1995 (which is patently false... the top 4 firms had 76% of the market in '95 compared ton 83.5% in 2005, and there have been more mergers and consolidation since then.).

On the other side of the spectrum, R-CALF USA came out with a statement today saying "independent beef producers who want some refereeing in the marketing game... No one in my circles wants a handout - just a chance to market their cattle in an open and transparent market." and "That is all these many hard-working people, the foundation of Rural America, desire: Enforce the rules."

I watched some of the hearing, when attendees were given 2 minutes apiece to make public comments. There was some support for the GIPSA rule, and some were opposed. Many seemed to come from Republican backgrounds and they just wanted the government to keep its hands out of their business, whether or not that is in their own best interest. It seems like, while some have pragmatic business reasons for opposing the GIPSA rule, others are ideologues who want the government uninvolved on principle, even if that means the big beefpackers can swindle them until they lose their family farms. Some said the solution is more free trade agreements (Colombia and Panama) and rigging up the Food Pyramid to tell Americans to eat more red meat.

I enjoyed the title used by the Center for Rural Affairs in their write-up of the event: "Cowboys vs. Packers in Colorado... But Not Football."

You can see a few more articles here:
Greeley Tribune: Ranchers differ on proposed meat industry regulations
The Coloradoan: Farmers seek fairness at ag workshop
Denver Post: Polar-opposite views on cattle rules rounded up at ag meeting at CSU

I think an important part of the workshop to review will be what was said by the panels, and that will be available online at some point. Also, I hope someone kept a tally on the comments - how many were for the GIPSA rule, how many opposed, and was the split down the line between Cowboys vs. Packers, or not?

Transcripts and video of Friday's hearing will be available at the link, although they are not up yet.

Today's the Big Day! Livestock Hearing in Colorado

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Aug 27, 2010 at 06:00:00 AM PDT

For a bit of background, I would refer folks to check out some of the stuff put together by R-CALF, like this PDF on livestock market consolidation. They are fighting a big bunch of monkey business thrown at them by big beefpackers that should probably be illegal, if it isn't already. A few tactics they are up against are posted below, from another R-CALF briefing document.

The Dairy Antitrust Hearing in Madison

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Jun 27, 2010 at 23:57:07 PM PDT

There's also an article by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal with the headline "Farmers plead for help as milk prices destroy profits Hundreds gather for hearing at UW-Madison" that includes, of course, pictures of protesters in cow costumes. (Side note: I seriously wouldn't be surprised if one of the cows in these pictures happens to be a friend of mine.) Here's their brief summary of the hearing:

Dairy farmers are being squeezed out of business as other sectors of the food industry demand a greater share of the consumer's dollar, farmers attending a federal hearing testified Friday.

The current system leaves dairy farmers with little or no profit, several said at a U.S. Department of Justice hearing on antitrust issues in the dairy industry. The hearing attracted hundreds of farmers from around the country to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"What we are hearing is a consistent message, which has not always been the case. Dairy producers, large and small, are hurting," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said at the hearing.

In the past 10 years, the number of U.S. dairy farms has fallen from 111,000 to fewer than 65,000, Vilsack said.

Some of that has come from farm consolidations and voluntary retirements. But much of the loss has come from farmers who have been forced out of business, especially in the past two years.

The article's great and I recommend reading it. Below, I am also featuring a statement by Sen. Feingold (who attended the hearing) and a press release from Farm Aid.

Last Week's Antitrust Workshop

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Mar 15, 2010 at 23:08:47 PM PDT

WHY Hunger says the following about competition in food and agriculture:

There are 2 million farmers and 300 million consumers in the US. Standing in the middle are a handful of corporations who control just about everything that happens to our food between the farm and our plate -- how much it costs, how it's grown, where it comes from, what's in it, and who sells it. Most of what probably matters to you about why food isn't healthier, safer, tastier, or all around better is affected by that narrow bottleneck of power between producers and consumers.

Standard economics holds that if the top four companies in any industry control over 50% of the market, that industry is no longer freely competitive. Right now, the top four companies control 85% of the nation's beef, 70% of pork, and 60% of the nation's poultry. Three corporations process over 70% of the nation's soy. Just one company controls 40% of our milk supply, and Monsanto holds patents on 80% of corn seed. Our food system has become one of the least competitive sectors of the marketplace.

If you want to send comments to the DOJ, please do so here (the deadline was Dec 31, 2009 but it seems that they are still accepting comments).

Should Farmers Speak at a Govt Hearing on Farming?

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Mar 10, 2010 at 14:53:17 PM PST

So... silly question: Should a workshop about "issues of concern to FARMERS" include presentations by farmers? Umm, maybe. According to the DOJ anyway. They've now amended the originally proposed schedule to include some farmer representation. Details below.

Sick of Corporate Control Over the Food Supply?

by: Jill Richardson

Tue Dec 22, 2009 at 18:25:59 PM PST

Maybe you've noticed prices rising at the supermarket even while most big food companies made record profits this year;

Maybe you are a farmer who has trouble getting your meat to market because there are no small-scale processing facilities in your region;

Maybe you're concerned about food safety and the spread of bacteria like E. coli-which happens much faster when meat and vegetables are processed in big centralized locations;

Maybe your local farm has gone out of business because it couldn't compete with the prices set by industrial farms and consolidated buyers.

And you probably know consumers having trouble finding good food at affordable prices, as well as farmers having trouble getting good food into mainstream markets. Please reach out to them today: the Department of Justice needs to hear their stories.

Email your comments to agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov BY DECEMBER 31.

And read below for more info... including the dates, times, and locations of the workshops, some talking points for your own comments, and the talking points Big Ag plans to use.