Gilbert Gutknecht: “But the interesting thing is, under the Packers and Stockyards Act, as I understand it, actually the USDA has access to…”

“But the interesting thing is, under the Packers and Stockyards Act, as I understand it, actually the USDA has access to that information. Now, I am not saying they ought to share the information from one neighbor to the other, but there ought to be a way that they can share more information about what actually is going on in the marketplace. Because as I have said, many times our independent producers, our farmers, it is like they go into the casino every day, and they make bets. They are betting against the big grain companies, they are betting with the big fertilizer companies, they are betting with the packers and the people who buy their products. The problem is the people that they are dealing with have enormous amounts of information. They know what is going on in China. They know what deals they may have going on in other parts of the world. They have much better information. So, in effect, they are going in and they are betting against the house, and the house always wins. We are not saying that the packers or the stockyards are necessarily evil. But there is something wrong with the system where they have a lot more information, they know what the prices are actually being paid, and the producers do not. What we are saying is it is time for the USDA to, at least, do what the General Accounting Office is telling us and what they have told us in the past needs to be done to more aggressively enforce the act.”