USDA announced several initiatives to promote fair competition in American agriculture and reduce food prices for consumers Tuesday morning.
Seed competition framework: USDA introduced a three-part strategy to enhance seed system diversity, competition, and resilience:
• Improving patent-related disclosure for seeds to clarify research opportunities.
• Providing guidance to USDA researchers on using protected germplasm.
• Encouraging the sharing of federally funded germplasm for research and plant breeding.
Meat Retail Industry Report: USDA published an interim report assessing competitive conditions in the meat retail industry, focusing on beef markets as a case study. The report identifies:
• Increasing market concentration among top packers, distributors, and retailers.
• Concerns from farmers and small to midsize processors about problematic practices by intermediaries.
Cattle Price Discovery Initiative: USDA announced steps to enhance price discovery and fairness in cattle markets through an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). This initiative aims to:
• Improve the base prices in fed cattle purchasing agreements.
• Address concerns about the negative effects of Alternative Marketing Agreements (AMAs) on the spot market.
USDA said it will continue its investigative study, including through subpoenas, and seek public input on potential next steps to ensure fair competition in the agricultural sector. Additionally, in the upcoming months, USDA will issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) seeking public input around how best to address practices used in meat merchandising that may violate the Packers and Stockyards Act.
United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) is currently reviewing the report and the proposed rulemaking and released the following statement shortly after USDA’s announcement.
“We commend USDA for their investigation into competition and fairness in the meat industry and hope identifying the trend of continued consolidation will help inform future decisions. We look forward to their continued investigation efforts, particularly through the use of subpoenas, to further research the concerns raised, largely by small and mid-sized, independent farmers and ranchers and processors like those that make up USCA. As we further analyze the interim report, we will begin drafting comments for the upcoming AMS proposed rulemaking,” USCA President Justin Tupper said.
“USCA is also carefully reviewing the preview of the price discovery options to be presented in the Price Discovery and Competition in Markets for Fed Cattle Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR). For years, our group has sought avenues to increase price discovery and transparency in fed cattle markets and we look forward to submitting comments to further our efforts to foster a fair and competitive market for all cattle producers.”
“USDA has worked diligently to gather input from our industry on both the investigation and for the proposed price discovery options. Their willingness to connect with producers and organizations like USCA is appreciated and helps yield rule making procedures that make a difference for those of us in the countryside.”
Read USDA’s full announcement here. A preview of the Cattle Price Discovery ANPR can be
found here.
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AgWeb/United States Cattlemen’s Association
