Animal agriculture organizations united last week when they called on USDA to withdraw the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Act (GIPSA) interim final and proposed rules, labeled with the misleading title, Farmer Fair Practices Rules. Craig Uden, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) president, said the rules stand to threaten market incentives, the quality of American beef the industry is known for, and will ultimately cost $954 million to the cattle industry.

“These rules are just as troubling as they were when USDA initially proposed them in 2010, after which Congress immediately stepped in to defund the rules, recognizing them as a flawed concept that limits producers’ ability to market their cattle and adding layers of crippling bureaucracy,” said Uden.

Citing grave concerns that they would “cause serious harm to the pork industry,” the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) President Ken Maschhoff, said “GIPSA’s one-size-fits-all approach would restrict livestock transactions, lead to consolidation of the livestock industry – putting farmers out of business – and increase consumer prices for meat. These regulations could impose staggering costs on the pork industry. The only people who would benefit from this heavy-handed government intrusion in the hog market are trial lawyers.”

The National Turkey Federation said these rules would would upend the contract relationships among growers and processors throughout the poultry business and detailed the increased uncertainty and unintended consequences that would outweigh any purported benefits.