Livestock and poultry organizations are praising House lawmakers for a provision included in the legislation that funds USDA, the Food and Drug Administration and related agencies for fiscal 2012. The measure prevents USDA from finalizing its proposed regulation on livestock and poultry marketing contracts by denying money for the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration to move forward with the rule.
National Pork Producers Council President Doug Wolf says pork producers are grateful that the U.S. House took this action…
“Requiring them to take a time-out on the GIPSA rule is a good deal, I think everybody needs to sit down and think about it a little bit more. this bill is bad for farmers and ranchers, it’s bad for consumers, it’s bad for rural America. The way it looks it’s going to cost millions of dollars and lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.”
In fact - a study conducted by Informa Economics shows the GIPSA rule would result in job losses of nearly 23-thouasnd - with an annual drop in gross domestic product by as much as 1.56-billion dollars and yearly loss in tax revenues of 359-million.
Bill Donald - President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association - said it was encouraging to see the House push back on government overreach into the private marketplace. He says the rule would put alternative marketing arrangements that were entered into by willing buyers and sellers - and that benefit producers across the country - in jeopardy…
“This sets the bar that all has to be done to bring suit is to have one person say they think the action is unfair. Fairness is a nebulous concept, hard to prove, and it’s going to be a lawyers dream and a cattlemen’s nightmare.”
National Chicken Council President Mike Brown says the same is true for the poultry industry. He says the GIPSA rule would destroy a well-established, effective marketing system for chicken - and he’s hopeful the Senate will follow with similar action…
“We in the chicken industry have always said that USDA needs to go back to the drawing board and write a new rule focusing on the elements passed in the last farm bill. The House did the right thing in voting in telling the USDA to stop and try again.”
While the regulation was prompted by the 2008 Farm Bill - more than a third of House members - as well as NPPC, NCBA and the NCC - believe the so-called GIPSA rule goes well beyond the intent of Congress. |