In Washington there is an effort to shed light on the gap between farm prices and retail profits. Here is the National Farmers Union’s plan to expose the issue.
The National Farmers Union was founded in 1902 with the purpose of supporting President Roosevelt’s efforts to bust up monopolies. Today, they are returning to that mission with the launch of their Fairness for Farmers campaign.
According to NFU President Rob Larew, “This endeavor has clear goals to curtail consolidation in agriculture and bust the monopolies which hurt farmers, ranchers, and consumers. Across the economy. There must be greater scrutiny of fire power; regulators must consider the need for robust competition at all links along the supply chain.”
Larew says that mergers and acquisitions have made the American supply chain uncompetitive and fragile.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme food concentration in these supply chains was felt in the disruption of meat and poultry processing. Closures or shutdowns at several massive meatpacking plants resulted in lost markets for farmers constrained supplies, and resulted in higher prices for consumers,” he explains
The group is calling on the administration to restore power to the Packers and Stockyards Act and bring more transparency to the market.
“Farmers, ranchers, and consumers must be provided with accurate and reliable information through price reporting and product labeling,” he states. “Federal and state governments must strengthen food marketing and processing chains to promote competition, and build a more resilient food system. Finally, existing anti-trust laws must be vigorously enforced and new authorities must be adopted.”
Larew says that movement already has momentum in the administration.
“We are encouraged by President Biden’s executive order on promoting competition in the marketplace, a commitment from his administration to restoring fairness to our economy,” he adds.
The new campaign has already earned the support of Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, and Senators Jon Tester and Amy Klobuchar, who have committed to working on legislation to restore fairness to the markets.
Related:
Searching for fair pay for both beef producers, packing houses
JBS hack amplifies need for cattle industry reform