Sen. Fetterman urges Dep. of Agriculture to protect small, domestic livestock producers

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTAJ) — In an effort to safeguard small domestic poultry and livestock producers from the interests of large corporations, Senator John Fetterman sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The letter expressed endorsement for the “Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets” and “Poultry Grower Payment Systems and Capital Improvement Systems” rules proposed under Packers & Stockyards Act (PSA) authority.

The PSA was enacted in 1921 to promote effective competition and integrity in the livestock, meat and poultry markets. It was enacted as a response to growing concerns about the exploitative practices of the “Big Five” meat packers. The PSA prohibits predatory practices by meatpackers and live poultry dealers to maintain market integrity and ensure fair competition, boosting economic stability for producers and maintaining top-quality domestic livestock.

Over a century later, Big Poultry controls all their own inputs and outputs, manipulating the market to eradicate feasible competition. The industry opposes any effort to promote a fair market, claiming these rules impose an anti-business regulatory agenda and could increase chicken prices, in an effort to maintain their dominance over the market.

“I can think of no clearer example of an ‘unfair’ practice in the poultry industry than pitting growers in a regional market against each other. Similarly, I can think of no clearer ‘deceptive’ practice than telling growers they will receive one price, then paying them another,” Fetterman wrote in the letter. “Unfortunately, as the Poultry Grower Payment Systems and Capital Improvement Systems proposed rule clearly lays out, the current tournament system many growers are operating under does just these things. The USDA can and must do more to create a level playing field for these growers, and this rule does just that”

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Under President Biden, the USDA is taking decisive steps to revise the PSA terms, combating harmful monopolization by a few livestock and poultry companies and making chicken farming equitable. The USDA’s effort is part of a broader initiative to create a more equitable agricultural marketplace.

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