The Trump Administration has decided to kill the Farmer Fair Practice Rule, adopted by the Obama administration to protect farmers who raise chickens, cows, and hogs for large meat processors.
In the past, large packers like Tyson Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride locked farmers into deals that compensated them at low levels. The Obama rule made it easier for those farmers to sue.
Sen. Charles Grassley, a conservative Republican from Iowa, said of the Administration’s action: “They’re just pandering to big corporations. They aren’t interested in the family farm.” He said the USDA is the Department of Agriculture, not the Department of Big Agribusiness.
The meat packing industry was delighted with the Administration’s action.
[Information for this post is from David Pitt, “USDA Withdraws Rule Aimed at Protecting Animal Farmers,” Lancaster Farming, (Oct. 21, 2017), p. A10.]
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