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Friday's USDA and Department of Justice workshop in Fort Collins underscored the split among cattle ranchers over a federal proposal aimed at preserving competition in a livestock industry dominated by a handful of corporate giants.
Around 1,500 people from around the country...ranchers, feeders, packers, and others, filled four rooms at Colorado State University to offer comments to both federal departments.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack...who took part along with Attorney General Eric Holder...said consolidation along the food-supply chain will ultimately hurt consumers, but the ranchers who spoke sharply disagreed whether the proposed rule would help.
The USDA says the proposed rule finally offers a clearer definition under the law of what practices are considered unfair, discriminatory or deceptive.
It would prevent packer-to-packer sales, which could potentially tip packers off to what prices competitors offer producers, and it would require packers to make sample contracts available online, so markets are more transparent. Buyers would have to keep records justifying any differential pricing to producers.
In the past few decades, consolidation of the packing industry to just a few giant corporations have led many ranchers and feedlots to sign contracts to sell their livestock to certain buyers rather than sell through the cash market.
The National Cattlemen's Beef Association says the contracts, known as alternative marketing agreements, allow ranchers to manage risk...bringing lucrative premiums for high-quality cattle with the tradeoff of steep discounts for inferior beef.
The NCBA and the National Pork Producers Council say the proposed federal rule could lead to unintended consequences, including more lawsuits, damage to producers who process some of their own meat, and the public release of information that should be a confidential part of business contracts.
Other ranchers...mostly represented by R-Calf USA...contend the contracts thin the cash markets, which help determine prices for those contracts, thereby depressing prices for everyone.
The American Meat Institute, a trade association for processors, oppose the rule...with general counsel Mark Dopp saying claims by backers that the proposal will help rural America simply don't stand up to scrutiny.
R-Calf USA President Max Thornsberry isn't surprised processors oppose the rule, saying the ban on packer-to-packer sales and the increased transparency of markets and sales means they'll have to pay fair prices for the animals they buy.
Both sides in the dispute held rallies the night before the Fort Collins workshop....with each drawing a couple hundred participants.
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