From staff reports OKLAHOMA CITY – A Biden administration interpretation of a 103-year-old agricultural act may seriously affect producers and the supply chain, a member of the N ational Cattlemen’s Beef Association states.
A current analysis of the P ackers and Stockyards Act, which was originally enacted in 1921, co uld have lasting consequences, warns Ethan Lane, NCBA Vice President of Governmental Affairs.
Formerly called the G IPSA rules (Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration), the fairness rules within the P ackers and Stockyards Act are being rolled out separately. The first two have already been implemented, while the third may become standard in 2024.
The first two rules have not made a major impact. However, Lane says, the third wave could potentially harm the industry, specifically on how U SDA regulators would look at marketplace practices.
This is “a standard for harm to competition” in pricing, La ne said. “If you get one price f or your cattle and your neighbor gets a different price, if you don’t like that, what is the threshold where you could sue for damages because you didn’t get the same price?
“This has been a r eal pet pr oject of Secretary Vilsack’s throughout his two terms as secr etary,” Lane said of U.S. Secretary of Agricul ture Tom Vilsack. “ This is one of his marque issues, and he very much believes that ther e shouldn’t be a standard. Anybody should be able to su e anybody else if they don’t get the sa me price f or their product, which is, in o ur opinion, a very dangerous road to go down.”
This possible interruption in the producer’s right to r eact to ma rket signals, Oklahoma Farm Report stated, means that all the pr emiums established by producing better carcasses and a bet ter eating experiences are in jeopardy.