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.
June 24, 2014 Dear Mr. Dittmer, After reading Mike Callicrate’s article about you in the OCM newsletter, I feel compelled to respond to your recent blog about me and the good hardworking employees at GIPSA that I was honored to lead. Two old sayings come to mind when dealing with you. First is “a wise man has something to say and a fool just has to say something”. The other is that “some people would rather climb a Read More …
“While still a teenager, James H. bought a quarter-section of land in 1893 and raised a few cattle, selling beef to the railroad crews for five cents a pound. His boldest venture came when, as a 23-year-old, James rode to Wyoming, bought 600 head of cattle, and drove them himself back to his little ranch. The drive took an entire month. That determination soon saw James purchasing 1,000 acres of land, and in 1923 the Circle Dot brand Read More …
A generation ago, the business of raising animals for food in America looked much like it had at the Founding – family farms, open and competitive markets, high standards, and a self sustaining national economy. Today, vast corporations rule almost every corner of the animal agriculture landscape, and these giants are increasingly controlled from foreign capitals. Some economists argue in favor of this new order of things, mainly claiming it is more “efficient.” But there’s also growing evidence Read More …
By Peggy Lowe | Mar. 18, 2014 Cattle business from the producers’ eyes Allen and Lynda Berry own a cow-calf operation in central Missouri. (Peggy Lowe/Harvest Public Media) The beginning for most cows starts on a family farm where cow-calf operators raise cattle the old-school way. But some worry that the industry is moving towards consolidation, like the hog and poultry industries. Click here to read about what life is like as a cow-calf operator. We’ve all heard Read More …
Testimony Submitted by Bill Bullard CEO, R-CALF USA to the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee March 20, 2014 Contact Name and Email: Bill Bullard, billbullard@r-calfusa.com AGENCY: USDA-Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) Request: No legislative riders to limit or restrict the Secretary’s rulemaking and enforcement authority under the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 On behalf of the members of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA), I am submitting this testimony to urge Read More …
A generation ago, the business of raising animals for food in America looked much like it had at the Founding – family farms, open and competitive markets, high standards, and a self sustaining national economy. Today, vast corporations rule almost every corner of the animal agriculture landscape, and these giants are increasingly controlled from foreign capitals. Some economists argue in favor of this new order of things, mainly claiming it is more “efficient.” But there’s also growing evidence Read More …
As Big Food’s tentacles wind tighter around markets and governments, OCM fights on From seed to plate, a handful of global corporations have combined their power to extract unprecedented amounts of resources and wealth. Even Upton Sinclair* couldn’t have predicted that today our nation’s four largest meat packers would control over 85% of the market. Surely even he would be surprised to find the biggest companies in all three major meat categories— beef, pork, and poultry—now foreign owned! Read More …
For Immediate Release Jan. 27, 2014 Contact: Melisa Augusto, 202-314-3191, maugusto@nfudc.org NFU Pleased with Initial Read of Farm Bill Conference Report WASHINGTON (Jan. 27, 2014) – National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson issued the following statement following the 2014 Farm Bill Conference Committee’s release of its report on The Agricultural Act of 2014: “Upon initial review of the language released by the committee, NFU is pleased with the final bill. I know that the farm bill is Read More …