An opponent of the proposed GIPSA rule
Washington Ag Today November 17, 2010 The USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration proposed rule to ensure a level playing field in livestock marketing was the subject of a panel discussion at last week’s Washington Cattlemen’s Association convention. Speaking against the GIPSA rule was Ric Stott of AgriBeef who says it is government intrusion into the cattle industry. Stott explained the impact of the proposed rule if adopted as is. Stott: “What we have heard from a lot of different people is that we are going to go to two things in the marketplace. One is that we are going to go predominately to a straight grade and yield calculation, no premiums no discounts other than select versus choice versus prime versus a 62% yield plus or minus, because those are the only two things we have absolute transparency on as far as the value of those animals in the carcass side of the equation. So it sets our industry completely back to the 1960s. Eliminates a lot of the premium programs. Programs like we have in the Double R Ranch Signature where we give big premiums for that upper one-third choice. No one out there prices that. We don‘t have a standard price out there in the industry other than that premium that we provide back to the producer. Those premiums in our marketplace are worth about 6.5 million dollars just in the northwest. Those will probably over time disappear.” Speaking in support of the GIPSA rule was Jess Peterson of the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association. His comments tomorrow. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
