Concentration in agriculture : a report of the USDA Advisory Committee on Agricultural Concentration PDF
Preview Concentration in agriculture : a report of the USDA Advisory Committee on Agricultural Concentration
Historic, Archive Document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. Reserve aHD1761 -C635 Jnited States —~=1996 Jepartment of \griculture Agricultural Marketing Service Concentration in Agriculture A Report of the USDA Advisory Committee on Agricultural Concentration June 1996 United States Department of Agriculture vy National Agricultural Library LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL The Honorable Dan Glickman eT, Rep Ft Secretary of Agriculture Mr. Secretary: Concentration and vertical integration in agriculture generally are associated with positive results, including more efficient production, risk management, international competitiveness, product quality improvement, and food safety advantages. At the same time, however, concentration and vertical integration in agriculture can cause problems and concerns, including distorted price discovery, unequal access to vital market information, environmental degradation, and, perhaps most disturbing, dysfunctional interactions between producers, handlers, packing plants, and retailers and distributors. The process for dealing with these problems historically has involved occasional investigations and, sometimes, government intervention to address a crisis situation. We believe it is possible to prevent most of these problems. Major policy efforts should be directed to creating an atmosphere of open disclosure of basic operating facts, including many aspects of price discovery, earnings levels of packers and feeders, environmental management concerns, and contract terms between integrators and producers. In this atmosphere of more and better information, markets will work better, fewer problems will occur, and any problems that do occur will be more successfully and convincingly investigated and resolved. It has been a pleasure to work with you on these important issues. The outstanding committee you appointed has worked very hard. Attendance and participation have been extraordinary, as have the civility and respect among members for individual viewpoints. The USDA staff have given first class support. We have benefited from much detailed work, performed at many levels of the food industry and by USDA’s supporting agencies. We have seen our role more as developing a policy direction rather than redoing detailed economic studies. We have tried to connect the many factors relating to the trends of agricultural industry restructuring and to develop a comprehensive basis for policy. We are honored to have been asked to serve in this regard. On behalf of the full committee, I want to express our appreciation for the opportunity to consider these issues. We hope this report will be useful to you in carrying out your responsibilities. Respectfully submitted, ere a ae Daniel I. Padberg Professor Emeritus and Chairman © & , LATTEMEM RAE AO ATTT S.A to ae ae , qucii sli? nie feisroey, Maa . | PM NONEA th yates : 7 eisited Mi ai ‘ £ Muerte Siac aiw bstioten a YUleTIASS GIN WUITS Nt! 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Respectfully signed and submitted by: casag ta Marty Strange, Vice Chair, Nebraska Herman Schumacher, Vice Chair, South Dakota ~~ Michael Boehlje, Indiana Mabou bell Graham Boyd, North Carolina Kenneth Bull, Kansas helrche a ) Dale Cochran, Iowa Rebecca Edington, Georgia Gary Evans, Missouri Tim Hammonds, Washington, D.C. John Hardin, Indiana Karl Johnson, Minnesota Edward Laur, Texas Tyrone Moos, South Dakota C. Eddie Nichols, Nebraska Brent Porteus, Ohio Steve Raftopoulos, Colorado Don Smith, Kansas Paul Strandberg, Minnesota Lois Wales, Texas Phil Weaver, Texas Contents Page Members of the Advisory Committee USDA Advisory Committee Staff Duties and Responsibilities of the Committee I. Executive Summary Il. Background III. Findings of the Committee: Livestock, Poultry, and Meat Sectors IV. Recommendations: Livestock and Poultry Sectors 15 V. Findings and Recommendations on Rail Transport 3) VI. 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