skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 18, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Comments Needed on New Protections for Poultry, Livestock Producers

play audio
Play

Monday, January 23, 2017   

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowans are being encouraged to add their two-cents on new regulations aimed at expanding protections for chicken and livestock producers as they deal with processors.

The USDA's has called the regulations the "Farmer Fair Practice Rules," and Anna Johnson, policy associate with the Center for Rural Affairs, predicts they'll end some of the unfair or anti-competitive practices sometimes faced by contract poultry and livestock producers.

The first rule, already in effect, is known as the "house fire" rule. According to Johnson, it specifies that farmers don't have to prove harm to any of their competitors in the industry when taking a processor to court for unfair practices.

"That's like saying if your house burns down and you go to our insurance agency for damages, your insurance agency comes back and says you have to prove that when your house burned down, it hurt your entire neighborhood,” Johnson explained. "So, this rule fixes that, and makes it so that farmers don't have to prove that a processor's actions against them hurt the whole industry."

The second rule essentially requires fair contracts between poultry dealers and producers. And the third specifies which actions by meat processors are considered legally unfair when dealing with livestock growers.

The public comment period on all three rules is open until February 21.

The Trump administration will be responsible for finalizing the second and third rules, which Johnson said she believes will go through, given the new president's pledge to help small business.

"These rules are really important and obviously these rules are going to help out small farms, businesses,” she said. "So, we think it's a no-brainer to just finalize them and increase protections for our contact farmers."

According to the USDA, more than half of poultry growers in the country have just a couple of processors available, which can lead to unfair competition and payments. The rules will cost about $144 million over 10 years, which the agency contends is minimal for the industry.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Corporate partners sign contracts to offer a graduate assistantship and pay the students. In turn, MSU pays the graduate assistant's tuition, fees and salary, so the assistantship is directly tied to the academic experience. (pressmaster/Adobe Stock)

play sound

By Victoria Lim for WorkingNation.Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Missouri News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Col…


Social Issues

play sound

A new report brands Connecticut's tax system as "regressive" for low- to middle-income residents and uses a report from the state to make its point…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Mental health care advocates are encouraging federal agencies to adopt a proposed update to regulations which would expand access to psychological car…


A draft rule would require Maryland employers to provide at least 32 ounces of water per hour to each employee exposed to heat stress conditions, every workday. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

With hotter summers bringing hotter working conditions, the Maryland Department of Labor is implementing a heat stress standard to protect workers …

Social Issues

play sound

The Amesbury School Committee will hear from educators and parents tonight as they rally to prevent more than $2 million in proposed cuts to their sch…

Out-of-state money is pouring into Texas as the contentious issue of "school choice" looms large ahead of November's election. (Dzmitry/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Jimmy Cloutier for OpenSecrets.Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the OpenSecrets-Public News Service Collaboratio…

Environment

play sound

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlanti…

Social Issues

play sound

Women are treated much differently than men by the criminal justice system, according to a new report detailing how and why mass incarceration is …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021