Date:August 20, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The following editorial was authored by Keith Mudd, President of the Organization for Competitive Markets. If you would like to arrange an interview with Mr. Mudd, would like a photo to accompany the editorial, or need any further information, please contact me at the number below.

Contact: Chase Carter, Executive Director
(402) 817-4443
carter@competitivemarkets.com
This editorial is authorized for reprint.
 

Tis the season for Congressional glad-handing in the field. Congress is not in session until September 6, 2005. This means they will be listening to ordinary citizens, rather than silk-suited lobbyists, in photo-ops and coffee shops. Independent farmers and ranchers cannot afford to fly to Washington, but we can make our views known in local meetings. It is our democratic duty to protect our interests, and let our political leaders know what we really think. We need to focus them on competition in the next Farm Bill.

Producers can give the “inside-the-beltway” leaders an “outside-the-beltway” reality check. Fewer meetings and less administrative functions allow for increased attention to the issues that affect states and districts. Also, the more time a Representative or Senator has to hear the concerns of constituents, the more educated they become on the issues.

The next Farm Bill will be written in 2006, newly constrained by the WTO-world-government. USDA is holding listening sessions around the country focusing upon issues important to Cargill, Tyson and Smithfield Foods. We need to begin working today.

Activist judges, on behalf of U.S. based agribusinesses, have recently gutted antitrust and competition laws that were designed to protect producers. We must press Congress to enact stronger competition protections, in a “Competition Title,” in the next Farm Bill. These elements will begin giving us the protections we need.
 

1. A Packer Ownership Act is needed to increase competition by prohibiting packers from owning the livestock. Packers should buy, not sell. They should be on one side of the market fence, and producers on the other. Conflicts of interest and price manipulation result without these rules.
2. A Producer Protection Act is needed to require large livestock and poultry processors to tell the truth when enticing farmers into longterm contracts which require 20 year mortgages on new buildings.
3. A Transparency/Minimum Open Market Bill would require meat packers to purchase a minimum percentage of their needs from the open market, to reduce price manipulation potential.
4. A Captive Supply Reform Act is needed to uncover large, secret sales to meat packers, pulling them into the sunlight of markets competition. Secrecy is bad for markets, transparency is essential.
5. Poultry producers need added protections in agricultural law for the unique deception and abuses inflicted upon them by poultry integrators like Tyson, Sanderson Farms and OK Foods.
6. Bargaining rights for contract farmers are needed because poultry farmers are singled out and punished for standing up for their rights. They must be able to join together without retaliation fears.
7. Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling was passed in the 2002 Farm Bill, but meat packers and their lackeys worked with USDA to delay implementation. We want consumers to know where their meat, fruits and vegetables come from.

These all have to be addressed by the lawmakers in the United States. The Farm Bill affects us all and can change the face of the agricultural industry.

So, while Congress is out of session, ask them specifically in local meetings whether they will support these principals in the next Farm Bill. They represent us, not Big Money, or so our Constitution says. Education is a lifelong pursuit, and you can help your Senators and Representatives in their pursuit by educating them.

Sincerely,

Keith Mudd

The Cattlemen’s Competitive Market Project (CCMP) is a self-help program for U.S. cattlemen, funded through voluntary contributions collected on cattle at the point of sale. Because the program is voluntary, funds may be used to promote USA RAISED (domestically produced) beef where other federally mandated programs cannot.