Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced three efforts aimed at building on President Joe Biden’s Executive Order to promote fair and competitive markets for farmers and ranchers and lower food prices for consumers. Farm Action is encouraged by this critical work to address corporate control over our food and agriculture system.
The following statement can be attributed to Farm Action President and co-founder Angela Huffman, who attended the Farmers and Ranchers in Action event at the White House on Tuesday where these actions were announced:
“Corporate power has infiltrated all sectors of our food and agriculture system. From the limited seed options that farmers have to choose from to the limited number of meatpackers a cattle rancher or poultry grower can sell their products to – small, midsize, and independent farmers and ranchers have little to no control over their economic viability. USDA’s work to promote competition is necessary for farmers, ranchers, consumers, and our food supply chain and national security, which are at risk due to these highly consolidated markets,” Huffman said.
First, the USDA announced its Seed Competition Framework, which will promote research access with the goal of bettering seed system diversity. Seed system diversity is crucial because, currently, just a handful of corporations control the vast majority of the U.S. seed supply. As Farm Action’s Agriculture Consolidation Data Hub shows, for example, two companies control 71.6% of the corn seed market, 65.9% of the soybean seed market, and 65.6% of the cotton seed market. Economists predict that abuses may occur when four companies control 40% or more of the market.
Second, USDA released its Interim Competition and Fair Practices in Meat Merchandising report, which despite a lack of cooperation by corporations, found that retailers, distributors, and packers are using unfair business practices and may be in violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act (P&S Act). These abusive business practices come at the expense of both farmers and consumers. The report findings come as no surprise given the numerous instances where corporations’ own financial statements disprove their excuses for price increases, as Farm Action has found. We expect to see further investigation of these retailers, meatpackers, and distributors by the USDA.
Third, USDA announced its fifth and final P&S Act rulemaking aimed at addressing price transparency in the cattle market. Farm Action has continuously urged the department to strengthen the historic P&S Act so that it levels the playing field for farmers and ranchers. In this rulemaking, the Agriculture Marketing Service says it seeks to improve transparency in the cattle industry by addressing alternative marketing arrangements (AMAs) and other non-cash-negotiated sales, which can depress the price of cattle for producers. The vast majority of cattle sales today are made through AMAs, which has dramatically thinned the cash market and left farmers and ranchers vulnerable to exploitative practices from dominant firms. For example, in three out of the five USDA-designated cattle procurement regions, including Kansas, Colorado, and Texas-Oklahoma-New Mexico, the cash negotiated share is significantly lower than 20%. Farm Action looks forward to further analyzing and providing feedback on this proposed rule.
Media Contact: Emma Nicolas, enicolas@farmaction.us, 202-450-0094
