U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack recently rolled out a proposed set of tighter antitrust rules for the meat companies that would place on them the sharpest limits since the Great Depression.
The suggested rules would also make it easier for farmers and ranchers to sue companies that set unfairly low prices. It would also limit the control poultry processors have over the farmers who raise birds for them.
This action by Vilsack was praised by many farm organizations and many members of Congress but criticized by the American Meat Institute and the National Chicken Council.
“I think it's fair to say that what we're proposing is aggressive,” Vilsack said in an interview with the Associated Press on June 18, the day the new regulations were unveiled. “The reality is, the Packers and Stockyards Act has not kept pace with the marketplace. Our job is to make sure the playing field is level for producers.”
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