NFU Statement: Salazar to Lead Interior Department — 12|18|08
Friday, January 16, 2009
Competition & Concentration
NFU supports establishing competitive provisions that ensure fairness, transparency, protection and bargaining rights for producers, and restore and enhance competition for agricultural markets.
Inadequate market competition is one of the most pressing issues facing producers across the country. As evidenced by the sharp decline in the number of family farms in the past decade and the increasing trend toward horizontal and vertical concentration in the agriculture and food sector, independent producers cannot succeed in the absence of protection from unfair, anti-competitive practices.
Livestock Market Reform
The U.S. food system is similar to an hourglass. Commodities produced by farmers and ranchers funnel to a handful of firms. These firms control both processing and distribution of food to millions of consumers around the world.
Restoring competition in our markets benefits farmers and ranchers, protects consumers, and revitalizes rural communities.
Talking Points - Packer Ban 11-1-07
Talking Points - Competitive Harm 11-1-07
PDF Files:
Amicus Brief in Favor of I-300 Accepted by Court 5-4-06
NFU Signs Amicus Brief in Favor of Nebraska’s I-300 4-3-06
Heffernan Report
In 2001, NFU commissioned a report called Consolidation in Food and Retailing and Dairy: Implications for Farmers and Consumers in a Global Food System by noted scholars of rural America, William Heffernan, Ph.D. and Mary Hendrickson, Ph.D.
The report concluded that horizontal integration through consolidation has occurred very rapidly in the last three years. Vertical integration formally connects retailers back to the production and processing stage of the food system. The Heffernan report found that as the balance of power shifts to the retailers, smaller entities in all parts of the food system are being left out.
To see the report in its entirety, click on the link below in the resources box.
Antitrust
National Farmers Union believes that steps must be taken to enforce antitrust laws in the agriculture industry. We are urging that Congress require the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to provide details why mergers are approved or disapproved. NFU is also calling for an expansion in USDA’s role in pre-merger review process. We would like to see the establishment of an Office of Special Counsel on Competition within USDA, and believe USDA be required to collect and publicly disclose concentration information. We are working with members of Congress to develop a system by which DOJ & FTC are required to collect information on joint ventures and alliances. 
