COWBOYS VERSUS MEATPACKERS: THE LAST ROUNDUP - Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America - page 101

just because we had tried to play ball the same way the packer was trying to deal with us; a very evident sign of
intimidation, and why you hear these stories of why producers are afraid to stand up. 26
At the hearings independent ranchers such as South Dakotan Bob Mack discussed how the meatpackers
have distorted the market and presented evidence why Congress should ban packer and processor owner-
ship of livestock.
During the debate over the GIPSA rules, the National Farmers Union's president, Roger Johnson, called
for a farmers' bill of rights, arguing: “The Packers and Stockyards Act has been around for ninety years.
It's time to start enforcing it. The Farmer and Rancher Bill of Rights will protect farmers and ranchers from
anticompetitive behavior by packers and processors. Industry will no longer be allowed free rein to abuse
livestock producers who have limited market power.”
During the 2011 attempts to defund implementation of the GIPSA rules, the president of the Wisconsin
Farmers Union, Darin Von Ruden, similarly stated that the rule “will help level the playing field for inde-
pendent family farmers raising livestock by creating a fair market environment in the industry, making sure
small producers have equal access to the market as large producers.” He went on to say that the big meat-
packers “have tremendous power to dictate not just what meat is available, but how that meat is raised.” 27
R-CALF, an organization that represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers, has been one of the most
steadfast advocates for antitrust reform and for implementing rules to establish a competitive livestock
market. The organization's slogan, “Fighting for the U.S. Cattle Producer,” is exactly what it has been do-
ing through lawsuits, lobbying, and advocacy.
In a briefing paper on the need for regulation, R-CALF does not hold any punches, stating: “The Packer
Lobby wants to chickenize the fed cattle industry, relegating it to an industry where the terms of production
and terms of marketing are controlled by the packers themselves. . . . Once the beef packers achieve their
goal of forcing independent cattle feeders out of the cash market, they will dictate and control the terms of
production and terms of marketing for fed cattle through contracts, just as they now do in the poultry and
hog industries.” 28
Former Nebraska state senator Cap Dierks, hailing from the hills of north-central Nebraska, is the type
of legislator who could never be bought by the industry. Raised in Ewing, where he still lives today, his
family has been ranching in Nebraska since the 1880s. His youngest son now manages the farm, although
his other three children maintain an interest in farming. Dierks has seen the massive changes to agriculture,
and he really hopes to see in his lifetime that independent ranchers and farmers are able to compete fairly.
In 2010 Dierks introduced a bill advocating for landowners along the proposed route of the Keystone
XL pipeline, a project that, if implemented, will adversely affect farms and ranches. The bill would have
required TransCanada, the company building the pipeline, to set aside funds for leaks, repairs, and other
mitigation costs. Dierks also introduced a bill in 2006, and again in 2009, that would restrict non-family
farm corporations from acquiring or obtaining an interest in any farming or ranching operation in Neb-
raska. (In November 2010 a twenty-four-year-old conservative activist, Tyson Larson, who campaigned
against Dierks's age, defeated him. Although now retired, Dierks continues to lobby the Nebraska legis-
lature on food safety issues and large animal medicine and to stop the “chickenization of beef.”)
Dierks is representative of many of the individuals who have been fighting long and hard to stop the
abusive practices of the meat industry. Even though industry won this round, the coalition fighting for fair
competition is determined to use the next Farm Bill to reopen the processes. It will take a broad-based
coalition effort to prevail over an industry willing to use dirty tricks to maintain their market power over
livestock producers and to drive the independent rancher out of business.
The Panolian 's Howell sums up the situation: “Anyone who has stirred that much reaction from big
lobbying and industry groups might be doing something right.” 29