The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE FAILURE TO PROTECT FARMERS AND RANCHERS FROM CORPORATE ABUSES” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2214-E2215 on Dec. 8, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE FAILURE TO PROTECT FARMERS AND RANCHERS FROM CORPORATE ABUSES
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HON. MARCY KAPTUR
of ohio
in the house of representatives
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my disappointment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration's (GIPSA) final rule that was supposed to protect our Nation's farmers and ranchers from abusive practices in the livestock industry.
Simply put, the final rule is inadequate and shows the power big corporate packers and processors have in this country. The final rule does not include about half of the protections it did in a previous draft.
Congress had to direct USDA in the 2008 farm bill to establish a set of comprehensive protection rules because the department was so slow in responding to the changing marketplace that has become so slanted toward corporate packers and processors that we are losing small farmers at a rapid pace.
The average American chicken grower makes 34 cents per bird while the processing corporation makes $3.23 per bird. With a profit margin of 34 cents is it any wonder that we have lost over 460,000 small-scale farms since 1982.
USDA claims it is committed to ensuring a fair and transparent marketplace. How can we have a fair and transparent marketplace when we allow corporations to force farmers to sign production contracts where one farmer is paid less than another despite producing the same livestock because there is no way for farmers to determine fair product value since there is no contract disclosure requirement.
In addition, how can USDA claim it supports a fair marketplace when it fails to clearly define conduct that is a violation of law? How are farmers supposed to know when they are being taken advantage of when the governmental agency tasked with protecting them does not tell them what types of practices are a violation of the law?
This House has not helped our Nation's producers either. We recently passed legislation that withholds funding from USDA to move forward with establishing more comprehensive fairness rules. Ultimately, we set the USDA up to fail and farmers and ranchers will suffer because corporate special interests have a stronger lobby than America's producers.
While the final rule will prevent some of the most abusive practices in the poultry industry, it largely fails to protect farmers and ranchers specifically in the pork and beef industry. Nevertheless, I will continue to fight to protect our farmers and ranchers from further corporate abuses and urge the USDA to enforce existing laws designed to regulate corporate packers and processors.
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