04/19/05 Packer ownership bill back

American Rancher April 19, 2005 Iowa Senator, Republican Charles Grassley has introduced new legislation to ban packer ownership of cattle to protect family farmers from excessive control of the market. Grassley: "I am again introducing legislation to make it unlawful for a packer to own and feed livestock intended for slaughter. Packers that own livestock can use their own animal supplies to pull out of the market when prices are high and jump back in when prices are low. You can see how demoralizing that is to the family farmer. This is a big temptation for our packers and it can be a big incentive to manipulate prices." Grassley says exemptions will be given to single pack entities and those who are too small to participate in the Mandatory Price Reporting of USDA, as well as cooperatives where members own, feed and control livestock. Grassley: "The bill is going to inject into the marketplace greater competition, access, transparency, and most importantly fairness to the American farmer." Grassley says current law does not address problems faced by small produces who must sell to big beef processors. Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin and six other Senators joined Grassley in sponsoring the legislation. I'm Bob Hoff.