Angie Craig: “last week we voted on an amendment by Senator Johnson that would prohibit meat packers from feeding, owning, or…”

“last week we voted on an amendment by Senator Johnson that would prohibit meat packers from feeding, owning, or controlling livestock. I voted for this amendment because of concerns from my livestock producers that the packers have too much control of the market. Since that time, I have received more information on how this provision would be implemented. It has come to my attention that the language as written would prohibit forward contracting, future contracts, and other pricing mechanisms. This is significant information. Indeed, had I known it at the time of the vote, I would have voted differently. For that reason, I took the only action available to me to correct the situation. I filed two alternative amendments to the farm bill: one that would prohibit the Johnson language from going into effect, and another that would substitute a study to determine the economic impact of such a proposal. The proposed ban on packer ownership, as offered by Senator Johnson, could cause widespread economic harm in the livestock and packing industries, but no one has explored what the true implications would be. My amendment would require the US Department of Agriculture to complete this study within nine months. I have always been a free market conservative; however, I regularly hear from ranchers expressing concerns about concentration in the meat packing industry. In Idaho we have two packers, and the only thing worse than just two packers, is to have only one.”