"I continue to be concerned about the concentration of more and more of the agriculture industry into fewer and fewer hands," Glickman said Wednesday. "We believe Congress must provide us with additional tools to ensure fair trade and swift correction of anti-competitive practices."
The action was the latest in a series of steps by the department to try to ensure farmers get a fair price despite the dominance of a few companies in the meat and poultry industries.
Glickman said the department would ask Congress to give it authority to bring administrative cases against poultry dealers who give preferential prices to certain growers over others, powers it already has for similiar violations by meat packers.
At the moment, the department must take its data to the Justice Department and persuade it to file a case.
Glickman said the department would also seek authority from lawmakers to impose civil penalties and take other steps to administratively enforce the Agricultural Fair Practices Act, which guarantees farmers a fair price for their goods regardless of whether they belong to a producers' association.
Asked by reporters if he believed Congress would okay the department's request for broader powers, Glickman said, "I think so. I think they will give us that authority."
Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, ranking Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, welcomed the initiative and said he would urge the committee to respond promptly to USDA's request.
Chuck Lambert, chief economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association said the proposed changes were significant because they would streamline enforcement of the two laws.
"This will allow USDA to bring these cases directly," he said.
A spokesman for the National Broiler Council said his group was still studying the announcement.
Glickman also said Wednesday that the department would restructure its antitrust division, the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) and add 30 new employees to the current staff of 175 in a bid to strengthen the watchdog unit's investigative activities.
The overhaul is in response to a recent government audit that found GIPSA was not capable of tackling anticompetitive practices in the meat packing industry.
Livestock producers allege the industry giants use their purchasing power to drive prices down.
Poultry growers have similiar complaints about the some 50 U.S. poultry processing companies that pay them to raise birds.
To illustrate its ongoing efforts to address concentration, the department cited four major investigations currently under way. Among them, USDA is looking at pricing practices for cattle in the Texas Panhandle and slaughter hogs in Iowa and Southern Minnesota.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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