Packers and Stockyards Act Updates in Danger if Rider is Passed

The National Farmers Union is raising concerns about a policy writer that the House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman has repeatedly attached to legislation. The writer, unrelated to funding, could create significant challenges to enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act, National Farmers Union Government Relations Director, Aaron Shier explains,

“If this bill that passed the House was to ultimately become law, like if the Senate were to take the same approach that the House did, it would be a really big problem, it would overturn the most recent Packers and Stockyards Act rules basically the changes to regulations, the updates to modernize the Packers and Stockyards Act, and fill in holes and gaps where producers weren't being adequately supported, and we don't believe the Senate will take that up, but we're working very hard to defeat this Packers and Sockyards Act writer to make clear that livestock producers need to need a fair shake in the marketplace, and that we shouldn't roll back the provisions we put in place to make enforcement of this law better and more robust.”

Shier says that the farmers union has worked to combat this in the past, and they will continue to work to ensure this does not get passed. I'm Lorie Boyer for the Ag Information Network.