Fairness in the livestock industry

USDA took an important step last month to bring more fairness to the livestock industry. The impact of three introduced “Farmer Fair Practice Rules” will be significant across the nation, creating much-needed protections for farmers.

Much of the livestock industry is vertically integrated; meat processors enter into contract agreements with farmers to grow livestock. The processor owns the feed and animals, and sells them to the farmer at a set price.

This arrangement is especially prevalent in the poultry industry, where 51 percent of the broiler market and 57 percent of the turkey mar...