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NCBA’s Lane says new rule under Packers & Stockyards Act is problematic for producers

The head lobbyist for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the USDA’s latest proposed rule under the Packers & Stockyards Act undermines the investments producers have made in their operations. Ethan Lane tells Brownfield under “Bidenomics”, under this administration’s view of the world, success is problematic.  “If you build a business, if you invest in that business, if you achieve profits in your cattle business, you are inherently doing wrong,” he says.

National Farmers Union president Rob Larew says the USDA’s progress on the Packers & Stockyards Act is welcomed as farmers and ranchers continue to face unfair practices at the hands of monopolistic meatpackers.

Lane says the intent is to focus on how packers acquire cattle.  “But the reality is, it’s our members, our producers around the country that have asked for alternative marketing arrangements, for formulas and grids,” he says.  “Better tools to market their cattle and get paid on the specific attributes that they were seeking for those cattle.”

He says the rule would be a step back for producers. “And return us to commodity cattle and those days in the 1980s where one out of four beef eating experiences was a negative one,” he says.

The proposed rule will be posted in the Federal Register for 60 days and Lane says the organization and its members hope to engage in the rulemaking process and alter its course.

AUDIO: Ethan Lane, NCBA

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