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.

The Failure of Modern Industrial Agriculture

Mike Callicrate

By John Ikerd | March/April 2015 Americans are being subjected to an ongoing multimillion-dollar propaganda campaign designed to “increase confidence and trust in today’s agriculture.” Food Dialogues, just one example of this broader trend, is a campaign sponsored by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance—an industry organization whose funders and board members include Monsanto, DuPont, and John Deere. The campaign features the “faces of farming and ranching”—articulate, attractive young farmers, obviously chosen to put the best possible face Read More …

NCBA is the cattlemen’s worst nightmare

Mike Callicrate

Download the poster to print and share! Assumed by its name to be an advocate for the cattle industry, the NCBA is actually the independent cattlemen’s worst nightmare. With its control of the Beef Checkoff Program, the NCBA is: Leading the attack against country of origin labeling (COOL) Undermining every effort to restore competition to U.S. livestock markets. Facilitating trade agreements that are lowering our U.S. food safety standards. Click here for the real history

Brother David Andrews, 1944-2015

Mike Callicrate

A Catholic brother who spoke truth to “the powerful and the short-sighted profit-makers” will be remembered for his work bridging advocacy and religious communities. “Brother Dave” led the National Catholic Rural Life organization and helped found the Organization for Competitive Markets. By Tim Marema David Andrews, a Catholic brother and “truth speaker” who confronted powerful institutions on behalf of marginalized groups such as small farmers and rural residents, died this week at the age of 70. Known widely Read More …

We’re in an epic battle for control of our food supply and we need your support.

Mike Callicrate

January 1, 2015 We’re in an epic battle for control of our food supply and we need your support. After sixteen years of fighting for a fair marketplace, we find our food system more concentrated and consolidated than ever before. Walmart is now the biggest food retailer, while Walton family members control more wealth than the bottom 42% of Americans. Sysco, already a virtual robber baron with monopoly power in wholesale food distribution, is awaiting Federal Trade Commission Read More …

Former GIPSA Administrator Calls for Secretary Vilsack’s Resignation

Mike Callicrate

December 22, 2014 Former GIPSA Administrator Calls for Secretary Vilsack’s Resignation Open Letter to Secretary Vilsack When I first began working for you in May of 2009, I was informed by some of your senior advisors that it was their job to protect your legacy. I informed them that if you were true to your word, your legacy would take care of itself. It is apparent now that your legacy will be that of a man of grandiose Read More …

Reform the Beef Checkoff Program: Terminate the NCBA gravy train!

Fred Stokes

Secretary Vilsack has proposed a new Beef Checkoff Program, which is in addition to the current one which will remain as is. As I understand it, three years after the new program goes into effect there would be a referendum to see if Checkoff payers liked it. In the meantime, the present program would continue and NCBA would presumably continue its lock on the contracting process for the current (mandatory) program and thereby receive more than 80% of Read More …

WHERE IS THE BEEF?

Mike Callicrate

“The Segregation Cost Arguments Do Not Hold Water” By: J. Dudley Butler Some opponents of COOL seem to use the term commingling as a synonym for segregation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Meat is commingled. Cattle are segregated. COOL does not deal with live animals. It deals with the sale of commodities such as beef and pork at the retail level. The COOL statue does not allow commingling of covered retail products. The use of commingling Read More …

Special Report: The End of the Trail – How Government Destroyed Free Markets for Family Ranchers

Mike Callicrate

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s inaction has led to the near-destruction of American family ranchers. Over 17,000 family ranches will disappear this year. Over 100,000 family ranchers have left the profession since 2009. It’s a tragedy as world-renowned American beef experiences record-high prices, grocery retailers seize increasing shares of beef dollars, meat packers manipulate the beef market and prices paid to ranchers, and the ranchers are denied the rewards resulting from raising the best cattle in the world. Read More …