Agricultural News
Fairness for Farmers a Top Concern in Coming Months of National Farmers Union
Tue, 23 Nov 2021 11:03:15 CST
Fairness for Farmers is the main focus over the next several months of the National Farmers Union. Fairness for Farmers is a nationwide campaign fighting for stronger enforcement of antitrust laws and breaking up the corporate monopolies that use their size to unfairly take advantage of farmers and ranchers while forcing consumers to pay higher prices at the grocery store.
With President Joe Biden's pledge to crack down on unnecessary inflation in the economy and encourage competition, now is the time to achieve fairness across the agriculture industry. NFU President Rob Larew told KC Sheperd, associate farm director of Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, basic market challenges are putting pressure on all producers.
"The big issue that we are facing right now is bringing some fairness and competition back to the marketplace," Larew said. "There had been a lot of work done on the cattle markets. That is emblematic of the challenges that farmers and ranchers are facing with this issue across the board."
As the cattle industry searches for robust price discovery, the federal government is getting involved. The latest attempt to return fairness to the cattle marketplace, now being dominated by four major meatpackers, is the newly proposed Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act.
"NFU is supporting this effort for a number of reasons," Larew said. "We see this as a good compromise position. There is still some disagreement among the cattle community, but the positive not here is that there is momentum for change."
No matter what species producers raise or farm, Larew said producers need to share their stories, which is an integral part of the Fairness to Farmers campaign.
"Everybody has a story," Larew said. "Whether it is escalating fertilizer costs because of monopolies in the market or a farmer who cannot afford to repair a tractor."
Larew said every story is unique and by sharing their story, NFU can gather meaningful examples to share with policymakers to achieve meaningful change.
To learn more or tell your story, click or tap here.
Hit the LISTEN BAR below to hear KC Sheperd and Rob Larew talk about NFU's Fairness for Farmers campaign, the newly proposed Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act and more.
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