0
|
0 |
|
|
Another Livestock Competition Study will be Too Little, Too Late Washington, D.C. (February 27, 2008) – In a letter sent this week to the leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the House Agriculture Committee, R-CALF USA urged the chairmen to reject any suggestion that passage of competition reforms in the 2007 Farm Bill should be delayed in order to fund yet another study of the situation live cattle producers find themselves in today. During development of the 2002 Farm Bill, the Senate led a bipartisan effort to include a prohibition on packer ownership of livestock to reduce the erosion of competition occurring within U.S. livestock markets. The measure was passed by Senate conferees but House conferees took no action. Later, during the FY 2003 appropriations process, the prohibition on packer ownership of livestock was relegated to a multi-million dollar study to be managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Four years later, in January 2007, the study, known as the RTI study, was completed. Though the RTI study erroneously presumed that the prohibition on packer ownership of livestock would prohibit all forms of alternative marketing agreements, it nonetheless found a causal relationship between packer-owned livestock and decreased livestock prices. Specifically, the RTI study found that, “A 1 % increase in packer-owned hogs causes the cash/spot price to decline by 0.24%.” Currently, the Senate version of the Farm Bill once again contains the Prohibition on Packer Ownership of Livestock. “This measure is narrowly focused and applies to only the very largest of packers – only those that both own multiple plants and that annually slaughter more than 125,000 cattle,” wrote R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry. “The measure exempts all alternative marketing agreements in which the producer maintains title to his/her livestock and materially participates in the production of those livestock. “It would be a disservice for the Farm Bill Conference Committee to again reject this important measure in favor of yet another study,” he continued. “At risk is the continued shrinkage of the livestock industry itself, particularly the live cattle industry, which has been shrinking at the rate of 25,000 cattle operations per year for the past 25 years, 1980 – 2005. “Unless Congress takes immediate steps to protect the competitiveness of the U.S. cattle market, the U.S. cattle industry will soon find itself without the critical mass of independent producers necessary to sustain a viable industry, and the now independent cattle producers will have to trade their independence for a meatpacker-controlled production contract in order to stay in business,” Thornsberry warned. “On behalf of thousands of U.S. cattle producers, R-CALF USA urges you to reject any attempt to convert the Prohibition on Packer Ownership of Livestock into another study,” he emphasized. “Independent U.S. cattle producers need this measure right now.” Note: To view the letter, visit the “Competition Issues” link at www.r-calfusa.com. # # # R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on trade and marketing issues. Members are located across 47 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA has dozens of affiliate organizations and various main-street businesses are associate members. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516. |
|
This page was last updated on Friday, June 06, 2008. |
