Agricultural News
Oklahoma Cattle Producer Scott Blubaugh Testifies Before House Ag Committee
Fri, 08 Oct 2021 04:38:15 EDT
Representing National Farmers Union in a hearing on Thursday before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on the "State of the Livestock Industry," Scott Blubaugh, President of the American Farmers and Ranchers, detailed the negative impact consolidation has on family farmers and consumers.
"Promoting competition has been and continues to be a top priority for NFU because of the detrimental effects of consolidation on farmers, ranchers, and consumers," testified Blubaugh. "Today, most sectors in America's farm and food system are heavily consolidated and dominated by a small handful of multinational corporations, but even more so in the livestock industry. As a result, farmers and ranchers have been deprived choices, innovation, fair prices, and fair treatment."
Blubaugh called for strong action by the Committee, other lawmakers, and the Administration to address these serious problems. Specifically, Blubaugh called for specific changes to address:
• Packers and Stockyards Act (PSA)
• Price-fixing in the livestock and poultry industries
• Supply chain disruptions
• Competition and diverse market opportunities
• Reliable, accurate, and robust market information
• Truth-in-labeling
Blubaugh shared with the Committee how Oklahoma has pursured more packing capacity- or hook space, by taking some of the original "Cares Act" money and offering it as grants for smaller processors to build space or removate existing space and bring it up to a standrad that would allow it to be eligible for USDA inspection. He also reminded the Committee that one of the shortcomings faced in Oklahoma is the limited number of USDA inspectors available to smaller processors.
"There are several ways to ensure a more resilient food supply for consumers and a competitive marketplace for family farmers and ranchers," Blubaugh testified. "Across the economy, there must be more scrutiny of buyer power, and regulators must consider the need for robust competition at all links of the supply chain. Furthermore, federal and state governments should invest in supporting more market competition in marketing and processing to build a more resilient livestock sector and to ensure greater value accrues to local and regional food systems," he concluded.
Click on the PDF file below to read the full written presentation prepared by NFU and OFU for the the Scott Blubaugh testimony. CLick on the LISTEN BAR below to hear Scott's testimony at the House Ag Committe hearing on Thursday, October 7th.
Click here for the House Ag Committee resource page to view and download other presentaitons from the Hearing and the witnesses that offered testiomny.
00730_ScottBlubaughTestimonyHouseAgCmte10072021.pdf
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