WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley, one of only two working family farmers in the U.S. Senate, today said he wants to address concentration issues during the upcoming farm bill debate.
“Remarkably, the last farm bill did not include provisions regarding concentration. So, I plan on putting together a package of bills that will focus on anti-competitive activity in the industry,” Grassley said.
“Concentration is one of the most important issues in agriculture today. Vertical integration leaves the independent producer with even fewer choices of who to buy from and sell to. And, it hurts the ability of farmers to get a fair price for their products,” he added.
Grassley said he plans to introduce several pieces of legislation early in the next Congress to jump-start the debate. This would include bills that he has introduced at other times during the last few years.
Here are a few of the bills Senator Grassley intends to include.
· Ban on packer ownership of livestock. This would prevent meat packers from assuming complete control of the meat supply by preventing packers from owning livestock.
· Limit on mandatory arbitration agreements. This would be similar to previous legislation Grassley introduced which amended the Packers and Stockyards Act to prohibit mandatory arbitration clauses from being included in contracts between livestock producers and packers.
· Review of agribusiness mergers. This would change the way the Justice Department reviews agribusiness mergers. It would also enhance the Agriculture Department’s ability to address anti-competitive activity in the industry.
Grassley said he plans on pushing his payment limits legislation as well as several other priorities during the farm bill debate. More details will be announced at a later time.