MEAT+POULTRY - August 2024 - 28

REGULATORY UPDATE
" Our elected
officials in
Congress
should be
making our
laws, not
unelected
bureaucrats
at federal
agencies.
- MARK EISELE
value-added attributes, " the Meat Institute
said. " At low points in the cattle cycle, like this
year's historically small cattle herd, it puts at
risk the value producers earn from sustained
beef demand, and as the expansion phase of
the cattle cycle begins it would undermine the
benefits earned from growing beef demand. "
During the majority of 2023, cattle prices
reached record levels, surpassing the previous
record highs from 2014-2015. Moving well into
2024, cattle prices remain at record levels.
The Meat Institute noted that the cattle
price outlook for 2024 continues to be bullish,
with the USDA projecting the annual average
price of cattle to increase over the 2023 record
based on a smaller supply.
Adding to the strains of a tight supply,
the Meat Institute believes the rule would
encourage " frivolous " and " costly " lawsuits as
it reverses the longstanding legal standard that
parties must demonstrate harm to competition
to sue and win under the Packers and
Stockyards Act.
" Unfortunately for the Biden
administration, Secretary Vilsack has tried
these changes before, " said Julie Anna Potts,
president and chief executive officer of the
Meat Institute. " They have failed before the
courts, conflict with Congressional intent
and are a blatant attempt to pick winners
and losers in the marketplace. Under these
proposed rules, everyone loses - the
livestock producer, the packer and ultimately
the consumer. "
The National Chicken Council (NCC)
mirrored the Meat Institute's stance.
28 MEAT+POULTRY | 08.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
" This proposal is ill-advised, would inflict
billions of dollars of economic harm on
American agriculture, line the pockets of
plaintiffs' lawyers, exceed USDA's statutory
authority and increase costs for consumers
who are already struggling with inflation
in most of their everyday lives, " said Gary
Kushner, interim president for NCC.
Kushner added that the rulemaking retreads
a failed attempt from over a decade ago to
modify the Harm to Competition rule.
" Eight different federal circuit courts
of appeal have addressed the key issue
underpinning the proposed rule - the need to
establish injury to competition to demonstrate
a violation - and they have uniformly and
resoundingly rejected the position advanced
by USDA in this proposed rule, " he said.
" USDA participated directly in many of
those cases. Rather than accept the courts'
decisions, however, Secretary Vilsack and
this administration are trying to circumvent
Congress and misuse the rulemaking process
to achieve what they have not won in court
and what Congress has never authorized - all
under the guise of somehow lowering costs
for consumers. "
A concern voiced by many industry
members, including the National Pork
Producers Council (NPPC), is the potential for
the rulemaking to invite increased litigation.
" NPPC is reviewing the details and
implications of the proposed rule, " the group
said. " While it appreciates USDA's intent to
promote inclusive competition and market
integrity, the PSA proposal - like previous
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MEAT+POULTRY - August 2024

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