Category: GIPSA Rule

The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s agency that facilitates the marketing of livestock, poultry, meat, cereals, oilseeds, and related agricultural products, and promotes fair and competitive trading practices for the overall benefit of consumers and American agriculture.

GIPSA is part of USDA’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs, which are working to ensure a productive and competitive global marketplace for U.S. agricultural products.

The Agency’s Packers and Stockyards Program (P&SP) promotes fair business practices and competitive environments to market livestock, meat, and poultry. Through its oversight activities, including monitoring programs, reviews, and investigations, P&SP fosters fair competition, provides payment protection, and guards against deceptive and fraudulent trade practices that affect the movement and price of meat animals and their products. P&SP’s work protects consumers and members of the livestock, meat, and poultry industries.

The Agency’s Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) facilitates the marketing of U.S. grain and related agricultural products by establishing standards for quality assessments, regulating handling practices, and managing a network of Federal, State, and private laboratories that provide impartial, user fee funded official inspection and weighing services.

Farmers Detail Harm Suffered at Hands of Big Ag Corporations in Our New Filing Against USDA

OCM Staff

[bctt tweet=”.@RealDonaldTrump and @SecretarySonny, America’s farmers deserve protection from corporate abuse. Reverse your decision to end the Farmer Fair Practices Rules. #implementGIPSAnow” via=”no”] In December 2017, we sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for illegally withdrawing critical protections intended to shield family farmers and ranchers from predatory and retaliatory practices by big agribusiness corporations. These protections were known as the Farmer Fair Practices, or GIPSA Rules. Today, with legal representation by Democracy Forward, we filed a new Read More …

Policy Position: Restore the Packers and Stockyards Act

OCM Staff

Following is OCM’s policy position on restoring the Packers and Stockyards Act to its original intent. 1. Implement federal legislation that amends Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921(P&S Act) to provide that the use of a ranking system for ranking poultry growers for settlement purposes is unfair, unjustly discriminatory, or deceptive and a strict violation of section 202(a) of the P&S Act regardless of whether it harms or is likely to harm competition. 2. Implement federal legislation that is Read More …

OCM Public Comments Strongly Support GIPSA Fair Practices Rule

OCM Staff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LINCOLN, NE – In submitting public comments on the USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) Fair Practices Rule, the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) urges every farmer, every rancher and every consumer to take the time to do the same. OCM President Mike Weaver said, “With the June 12th deadline looming, it is imperative that everyone act now. It appears USDA is disregarding all comments from previous public comment periods and now will Read More …

Former GIPSA Head Debunks NCBA’s Lies About Premium Payments

OCM Staff

By Dudley Butler, former GIPSA administrator I was an active member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) for many years. I quit NCBA because its leaders began to lie to its grassroots membership and I could not stomach it any longer. Today’s NCBA leaders continue this untruthful behavior. These leaders are like Judas goats leading their members to the slaughterhouse of vertical integration. The current lies being told by NCBA leaders involve the recent interim final rule Read More …

POLITICO | The Next GIPSA Question

OCM Staff

POLITICO Morning Agriculture A daily briefing on agriculture and food policy By JASON HUFFMAN 04/12/17 10:00 AM EDT With help from Jenny Hopkinson and Eric Wolff THE NEXT GIPSA QUESTION: Now that the USDA has agreed to again push back the effective date of its controversial Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s interim final rule, the next action to watch is how commenters respond to the question asked on a new proposed rule, Colin Woodall, the National Cattlemen’s Read More …

Beef Magazine | GIPSA rule delayed, additional comment period opened

OCM Staff

Beef Magazine By Burt Rutherford USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration once again postpones implementation of its controversial rule. In an announcement that drew cheers from some quarters of the beef business and consternation from others, the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is delaying the effective date of its interim Farmer Fair Practices final rule an additional six months to Oct. 19, 2017, to allow additional comments and giving the new Ag Secretary time to consider Read More …

USDA Delays GIPSA Rule Again, Keeping Farmers in Harm’s Way

OCM Staff

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) announced it is delaying the effective date of the Farmer Fair Practices Interim Final Rule an additional 180 days, until Oct. 19, 2017. Further, it will again solicit public comments on the direction that USDA should take with regard to the rule. During a new 60-day comment period, the public will weigh in on whether USDA should (1) let the rule become effective, (2) suspend Read More …

OCM sends letter to President Trump urging support for GIPSA’s Farmer Fair Practices Rules

OCM Staff

On Friday, March 9th, OCM sent the following letter to President Trump, urging him to support the new Farmer Fair Practices Rules to strengthen the Packers & Stockyards Act. These much-needed marketplace safeguards would help level the playing field for family farmers, ensuring they have the opportunity to feed us here at home and to compete in the global market. Enclosed with our letter to President Trump are copies of our comments in support of each of the three Read More …