The Obama administration has started a new fight with conventional agribusiness, this time over the way hogs, cattle and poultry are bought and sold.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing rules for marketing livestock aimed at curbing the power of big packers such as Tyson Foods and Cargill Inc. to control the prices paid to producers. The administration and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack say the regulations are in line with their drive to reverse the decline in rural populations and medium-size farms.

But groups representing meatpackers and conventional livestock producers claim the rules are potentially so far-reaching that they threaten to destroy the industry's marketing structure. They say the rules could make it difficult, if not impossible, for farmers to get premium prices for higher-quality livestock.

Read more: Des Moines Register

Comments