R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America – “Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer”
Contact: R-CALF USA Communications Coordinator Shae Dodson-Chambers
Washington, D.C. – Today, R-CALF USA, along with 84 other organizations, sent formal correspondence to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to request that the agency take additional steps beyond the GIPSA (Grain Inspection, Packers Stockyards Administration) rule to address the alarming erosion of competition in the cash – or spot – market, which is the price-discovery market for livestock. Captive supplies have been shown to increase the instability of prices for cattle producers and hold down prices overall.
“We respectfully, but in the strongest sense possible, urge you to immediately initiate a rulemaking process to specifically address the ongoing erosion of competition for livestock by prohibiting the meatpackers’ practice of leveraging their captive supplies (i.e., livestock committed to meatpackers through direct ownership or by contract for many days, weeks, or even months prior to slaughter) to lower prices in the price-discovery market,” the letter states. “The effect of this anticompetitive practice is to artificially lower livestock prices for all livestock producers, regardless of whether they market livestock in the cash market or through the various forms of forward contracts or marketing agreements.”
“Collectively, these 85 organizations represent the new catalyst for change – the new leaders in Rural America,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard. “Representing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of livestock producers and consumers both nationally and in 26 states, these groups are the heart and soul of America’s food production and food consumption economy. Their urgent request must be honored as they offer a genuine solution to the acute economic erosion that persists unabated in rural communities all across America. Restoring a meaningful market to independent livestock producers is the first step to restoring economic opportunities for everyone in Rural America.”
The letter states that testimony at the August 2010 competition workshop in Fort Collins, Colo., revealed that the price-discovery market for livestock is imperiled. One panelist said his research reveals that in some cattle marketing regions, cattle producers go for weeks with only one prospective buyer for their slaughter-ready cattle – clearly a function of the meatpackers’ practice of hording captive supplies to avoid bidding in the price-discovery market.
“Time is of the essence,” the letter continues. “As the price-discovery market for livestock continues to evaporate, so evaporates competition, and as competition evaporates, the only remaining available substitute for price discovery in livestock markets is the market power exerted by dominant meatpackers, which results in the antithesis of competition.
“Based on testimonies and information gathered during the 2010 competition workshops, the need is undeniably urgent for USDA-GIPSA to exercise its pre-existing authority under the Packers and Stockyards Act to address this disastrous loss of competition,” the letter concludes. “Please initiate, as quickly as possible, a rulemaking process to reverse the alarming erosion of competition for livestock by prohibiting meatpackers from leveraging their captive supplies to lower the price-discovery market.”
Organizations making this request of Secretary Vilsack include: Alabama Contract Poultry Growers Assn.; American Agriculture Movement; American Corn Growers Assn.; Buckeye Quality Beef Assn.; California Dairy Campaign; California Farmers Union; California Food & Justice Coalition; Carolina Farm Stewardship Assn.; CASA del Llano; Cattle Producers of Louisiana; Cattle Producers of Washington; Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Assn.; Colville Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation; Contract Poultry Growers Assn. of the Virginias; Dakota Resource Council; Dakota Rural Action; Davidson College Office of Sustainability; Farm Aid; Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance; Food & Water Watch; Food Chain Workers Alliance; Food Democracy Now!; Freedom21 Inc.; Heartland Center; Idaho Farmers Union; Illinois Farmers Union; Illinois Stewardship Alliance; Independent Beef Assn. of North Dakota; Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska; Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming; Indiana Farmers Union; Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; International Texas Longhorn Assn.; Intertribal Agricultural Council; Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement; Iowa Farmers Union; Kansas Cattlemen’s Assn.; Kansas Farmers Union; Land Loss Prevention Project; Land Stewardship Project; Michigan Farmers Union; Mississippi Livestock Markets Assn.; Missouri Farmers Union; Missouri Rural Crisis Center; National Assn. of Farm Animal Welfare; National Farmers Organization; National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Assn.; Nebraska Farmers Union; Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society; Nevada Live Stock Assn.; North Carolina Contract Poultry Growers Assn.; Northeast Organic Farming Assn., Interstate Council; Northern Plains Resource Council; Northern Wisconsin Beef Producers Assn.; Ohio Environmental Stewardship Alliance; Ohio Farmers Union; Operation Spring Plant Inc.; Oregon Livestock Producers Assn.; Oregon Rural Action; Organic Consumers Assn.; Organization for Competitive Markets; Peach Bottom Concerned Citizens Group; Pennsylvania Farmers Union; Powder River Basin Resource Council; R-CALF USA; Renewable Harvest; Rocky Mountain Farmers Union; Rural Advancement Foundation International – USA; Rural Coalition/Coalición Rural; Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia; Socially Responsible Agricultural Project; South Dakota Livestock Auction Markets Assn.; South Dakota Stockgrowers Assn.; Sovereignty International Inc.; Texas Farmers Union; The Center for Food Safety; The Cornucopia Institute; Trappe Landing Farm & Native Sanctuary; United Poultry Growers Assn.; West Carroll Cattlemen’s Assn.; Western Organization of Resource Councils; Western Sustainable Agriculture Working Group; Williams County Alliance; and, Wood County Citizens Opposed to Factory Farms.
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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) is a national, nonprofit 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 46 states and are primarily cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and/or feedlot owners. R-CALF USA directors and committee chairs are extremely active unpaid volunteers. 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.
