NEWS RELEASE
September 22, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lauren DeMott-Clary, Communications Specialist
kfu.lauren@gmail.com or 620-245-4118
ST FRANCIS—Kansas Farmers Union President Donn Teske spoke Tuesday during Callicrate Cattle Company’s press conference in St Francis, Kan about the challenges independent cattle producers are facing.
“This is a defining moment in the history of our society, when we have to decide what spending we can do without,” Teske said. “This is when you need to do something by letting your voice be heard. If something drastic doesn’t happen, we will loose the fight over GIPSA.”
National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson said, “In order to find the source of the anti-GIPSA rule campaign, one only needs to follow the money to the meatpackers and processors. Family farmers do not have the resources to compete with national messaging campaigns, flawed economic analyses, and full-page ad buys, but we do have grassroots power on our side.”
The lack of competition in livestock markets results has resulted in the loss of 1.2 million beef and pork farm and ranches in the last 30 years – a staggering number of lost jobs.
“This is a radical change that has been swept under the rug by big agribusiness,” R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said.
The Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Act (GIPSA) proposed rule will create more competition in the cattle markets.
“We need more competition,” Brandy Carter, Executive Director of Kansas Cattlemen’s, said. “If 88 percent of the market is controlled by four, what’s going to happen to us? We have to stand together, if we don’t they will pick us off one by one.”
Competitive markets help family farmers and ranchers to stay in business, and family farms protect against wide-spread food borne illnesses and are environmentally-friendly.
“Competitive markets always produce better prices for the producer and consumer,” Mike Callicrate, owner of Callicrate Cattle Company, said.
Farmers Union maintains that competitive markets help family farmers and ranchers to stay in business, and family farms protect against wide-spread food borne illnesses and are environmentally-friendly. A strong GIPSA rule should be finalized and implemented as soon as possible.
To find out more about the GIPSA rules and how you can stand up for independent cattle producers in rural Kansas, visit www.kansasfarmersunion.org or call 620-241-6630.
