By: Peggy Kirk Hall, Thursday, May 04th, 2017
Written by: Chris Hogan, Law Fellow, OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program
The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is delaying the implementation of the Farmer Fair Practices rules. GIPSA is a USDA agency that facilitates the marketing of livestock, poultry, meat, cereals, oilseeds, and related agricultural products. One purpose of GIPSA is to promote fair and competitive trading practices for the benefit of consumers and agriculture.
On April 11, 2017, the USDA announced that GIPSA delayed the implementation of the Farmer Fair Practices rules until October 19, 2017. The delayed Farmer Fair Practices rules were originally set to be effective on December 20, 2016. According to the USDA, the delayed rules would protect chicken growers from retaliation by processors when growers explore opportunities with other processors, discuss quality concerns with processors, or when refusing to make expensive upgrades to facilities. GIPSA concludes that the Farmer Fair Practices Rules alleviates these issues. However, several livestock groups argue that the delayed rules would have adverse economic effects on the livestock industry.
Opportunity for Public Comment
During the delay, the USDA is seeking public comment on the Farmer Fair Practices rules. The comment period offers the agricultural community an opportunity to suggest what action the USDA should take in regard to the Farmer Fair Practices rules. The USDA asked the public to suggest one of four actions that the USDA should take:
- Let the delayed rules become effective
- Suspend the delayed rules indefinitely
- Delay the effective date of the delayed rules further, or
- Withdraw the delayed rules.
After receiving public comments, the USDA will consider the comments and make an informed decision regarding the delayed Farmer Fair Practices rules. According to Drovers, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently visited Kansas City, Missouri to speak with farmers, ranchers, and industry members. During the event, Secretary Perdue responded to a question about the GIPSA rule. “We’re going to look at it very closely,” said Perdue. The full Drovers article is here.
More information on the delayed GISPA rules is here. Leave a public comment on the delayed rules here by clicking “Comment Now.”