Mike Enzi: “This ad was run on February 3, 2002, in the Sioux Falls, SD, newspaper, the Argus Leader, in response to an amendment…”

“This ad was run on February 3, 2002, in the Sioux Falls, SD, newspaper, the Argus Leader, in response to an amendment banning packer ownership of livestock that we did on the farm bill recently. It was paid for by Smithfield Foods, Inc., a large hog producing and pork processing company. The advertisement claims that the company wants Senator Johnson to understand the true impact of his ill-conceived amendment. I also supported his amendment and was a cosponsor, and I voted for it along with 50 of my colleagues. The advertisement, as you can see, from the Argus Leader, states: If the Johnson amendment becomes law, Smithfield Foods will neither rebuild the Sioux Falls plant, or build a new plant in South Dakota, nor will we make any further investment in South Dakota, or for that matter in any other state whose public officials are hostile to our ongoing operations and our industry. If the packers are dealing fairly, why would they resort to scare tactics such as this? Does this mean my State will be blacklisted, too? Let me tell you what has happened in Wyoming. When we were doing this amendment, people who had contracts were being called, saying, you are going to lose 3 cents per pound on your beef if this goes through. They are buying all the beef. They are paying the prices, and they are setting them. Packer ownership of livestock is only a small portion of the packer captive supply problem. My bill would put an end to the rest of the packers' manipulative power.”