Author(s)
Doug Sombke
Author(s) Description
President of South Dakota Famers Union
In a scene from the ugliest side of politics, President Obama on his recent visit to Iowa was greeted with a full page advertisement declaring the proposed Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Act (GIPSA) rules as a job killer.
The rules, which Farmers Union has called, “The Farmer and Rancher Bill of Rights,” would bring transparency and fairness to a livestock market that is too vertically integrated and controlled by a few greedy meat packers.
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The ad falsely claims the U.S. would lose over 100,000 jobs if the GIPSA rules are carried out. Americans deserve truth in advertising, not misleading scare tactics, so let’s talk real numbers.
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Today, just 10 percent of the hog producers operating in 1980 are still in business today. In that same time, we’ve gone from 1.3 million cattle producers in this country to just 740,000. We’ve lost 44 percent of our family producers in just three decades.
The one thing both of these numbers have in common is unfair, uncompetitive and manipulative practices by the meat packing industry. You can see why, when I look at ads that pro-meat packing groups are running. I get upset.
Blatant lies in an ad is one thing, but to mock the 600,000 pork producers and 560,000 cattle producers who lost their livelihoods is going too far. The time has come to put out these fear-mongering fires set by the packers and organizations who claim to represent the producer.
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Read the full editorial, Farmers Need New GIPSA Rules by visiting the Rapid City Journal website.
