The USDA finalized a third rule under the Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Act but announced it was withdrawing a separate rule that would define unfair practices.
The new regulation is intended to create fairness and transparency for contract farmers. The rule will give poultry growers more insight into company pay rates, add fairness to the tournament system, supply more contract information and give farmers more leverage when companies break rules, USDA said. Last June, USDA proposed the “Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets” to define unfair practices under the P&S Act. The department received more than 13,000 comments on the proposal. USDA said it was withdrawing the proposed rule due to time constraints and the complexity involved in finalizing it.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) said it was pleased the department withdrew the rule. “Under the ‘Bidenomics’ agenda, USDA pushed regulations like this one which would have undermined the free market, harmed hardworking cattle producers, and far exceeded the agency’s authority granted by Congress,” said NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Tanner Beymer.
