A letter to Senate Appropriation Committee Chair Barbara Mikulski and Ranking Member Richard Shelby requests the removal of the policy rider. According to the letter - the gross mistreatment of poultry growers has been widely reported and the USDA regulations respond directly to the directives from the 2008 Farm Bill requiring USDA to address the most egregious of these abuses. It goes on to note that those rules - which are now in effect - would be rescinded by the CR now pending in the Senate. National Farmers Union signed the letter.
The group has long supported better enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act in order to ensure farmers and ranchers have access to fair prices that aren’t manipulated by packers and processors. NFU President Roger Johnson says concentration has left poultry and livestock markets uncompetitive. If the rider is included in the Senate’s continuing resolution - he says poultry farmers - who have suffered the most from the lack of competitive markets - will be hurt even more.
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