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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Farmer Fair Practice Rules Await White House OK

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Monday, November 7, 2016   

DES MOINES, Iowa – Rules that would help protect farmers and ranchers in Iowa and elsewhere are awaiting a final sign-off from the White House.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture submitted the Farmer Fair Practices Rules to the Office of Management and Budget a couple of weeks ago, a move hailed by many agricultural organizations.

John Crabtree, media director for the Center for Rural Affairs, says these rules will help create competitive, transparent markets for poultry and livestock producers. And he notes they are widely supported.

"The sort of iconic American farmer and rancher is something that people in their heart really support,” he states. “And so as we make policy choices and reform livestock markets in ways that help protect those American farmers and ranchers, the public absolutely agrees that we should do that."

The North American Meat Institute and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association are among those criticizing the rules, arguing they would be costly for producers and consumers.

But Crabtree counters that the rules will help balance and bring transparency to the relationships between producers and meat packing companies. Once approved, both an interim final rule and two proposed rules will have public comment periods.

The USDA reviewed more than 60,000 comments as it considered potential economic impacts of the regulations.

Crabtree says the rules come after a years-long fight for fairness and transparency in livestock markets by farmers and ranchers.

"There's no rush to judgment here,” he states. “This has been a long process, these are important reforms and, for everyone, policymakers and citizens alike, this process moves forward. USDA showed they have every intent of moving that process forward."

Other groups supporting the rules are the National Farmers Union and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.





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