The Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration recently began working on updating its Farmer Fair Practice Rules and some Ag groups are concerned. Two new rules and one interim rule were passed along to the Office of Management and Budget, and if they’re approved, they’ll be announced for public comment. The Pig Site dot com website says a letter from Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack outlined some of the new proposals and Ag groups are worried. Dave Warner of the National Pork Producers Council says the interim rule allows individual farmers to sue others who’ve shown undue preference to other farmers. That rule will open up companies who currently contract with farmers that raise their hogs to more lawsuits. Warner says companies may decide instead to own the farms and hire full-time employees to care for animals. Tom Super of the National Chicken Council says his farmers aren’t interested in government interference with their contracts. He said the proposed GIPSA rules would implement a “one size fits all requirement on chicken-growing contracts that would stifle innovation and lead to higher costs for consumers.”
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.