The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), in one of its final acts under the presidency of Joe Biden, has announced that a new regulation has been finalised to “create fairness and transparency for contract farmers”.
Outgoing agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack has said that the regulation, the third of its kind under the current administration, is “intended to level the playing field for farmers who raise chicken, turkeys, hogs, cattle, and sheep under contract for sale to meat and poultry companies”.
Specifically, the rule announced today (Tuesday, January 14) is aimed at giving chicken farmers better insight into companies’ payment rates for their birds; providing farmers with information on capital improvements the companies require farmers to make in order to keep or renew contracts; and giving farmers stronger leverage when companies do not adhere to these rules.
Commenting on this new regulation, Vilsack said: “During my time as secretary of agriculture, time and again the USDA has been confronted with stories of farmers who lost their life’s savings or went bankrupt because of an unfair system they entered into when they agreed to raise animals for a major meat conglomerate.
“It is the USDA’s job to advocate for farmers, and these regulatory improvements give us the strongest tools we’ve ever had to meet our obligations,” he added.
Vilsack said that the latest change to regulations complements other measure taken during the current administration, which he said includes investing in independent processing capacity; supporting domestic fertiliser production; and promoting transparency around seed technology and markets.
“As the bedrock of so much that our society depends on, and the pillar of rural economies, farmers deserve honesty, certainty and options when it comes to their hard work,” he added.
USDA new secretary
Vilsack’s tenure as USDA secretary will come to an end next week with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the next US president.
In November, Trump announced his pick to run the USDA during his next administration, saying that Brooke Rollins, a long-time supporter of his, will be his nomination to the role of secretary of agriculture.
Rollins, a native of Texas, is from a farming background, and attended an agricultural university in her home state, graduating with a decree in agricultural development in 1994.
She was also a member of Future Farmers of America, a farming and rural youth organisation, and her family is involved in livestock showing.
Before taking office, Rollins, along with all of Trump’s nominees for cabinet positions, will have to be confirmed by the US Senate, in which Trump’s Republican Party has a majority.
Commenting on his pick for agriculture secretary, Trump said: “Brooke’s commitment to support the American farmer, and the restoration of agriculture-dependent American small towns, is second to none.
“From her upbringing in the small and agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas, to her years of leadership involvement with Future Farmers of America…to her generational family farming background…Brooke has a practitioner’s experience,” Trump added.