"I want to make sure that the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration is taking every appropriate action to preclude unlawful anti-competitive practices and to protect competition in agriculture," Grassley said. "There's serious concern that the trend in horizontal and vertical concentration in agribusiness has contributed significantly to the economic stress in agriculture today. The question I have for the GAO is, how have business practices, and possible violations of the anti-trust laws, aggravated this situation?"
The Packers and Stockyards Act was enacted in 1921 to ensure fair competition and trade practices in the meat-packing industry. By law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for investigating and taking enforcement action against individuals and companies that engage in anti-competitive and unfair business practices.
Grassley said that USDA also has the authority to issue rules regulating activities in the livestock and poultry industries, and to enforce compliance with these regulations on industry trade practices.
In making his request, Grassley asked that the General Accounting Office specifically obtain:
As a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chairman of its oversight subcommittee, Grassley has worked to see aggressive enforcement of the anti-trust laws to secure a level playing field for the nation's farmers.
He has asked the Justice Department's top anti-trust official to hold a meeting in Iowa to hear directly from the grassroots about ag concentration and its impact on the farm economy. "Farmers don't want special treatment, they need fair treatment," Grassley said. "I will be watching out to make sure that the family farmers' interests are protected in a new century of global competition."