7. Promoting Quailty and Fair Trade Through Marketing and Regulatory Services

Mission

The mission of Marketing and Regulatory Programs is to facilitate the domestic and international marketing of U.S. agricultural products and to ensure the health and care of animals and plants while improving market competitiveness and the economy for the overall benefit of both consumers and American agriculture.

Efforts To Improve Oversight of Livestock Concentration

High concentration, forward sales contracts, production contracts, and vertical integration have raised major concerns about competition and trade practices in livestock and procurement by meat packers and poultry processors. The Packers and Stockyards (P&S) program of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is restructuring its headquarters and field offices to better focus on its core responsibilities—overseeing competition, trade practices, and payment protection. Eleven field offices have been consolidated into three regional offices. P&S is also incorporating economic, statistical, and legal expertise into investigations at the field office level to increase effectiveness in investigating anticompetitive practices and enforcing trade practice and payment protection.

Challenge to IBP’s Livestock Buying Method, Right of First Refusal

In August 1995, P&S filed a complaint alleging that IBP, Inc.’s use of an agreement to purchase cattle violated the Packers and Stockyards Act because the agreement was an unfair practice and gave unreasonable preference to a small group of Kansas feedlots by guaranteeing them the highest price paid for cattle in Kansas. The Chief Administrative Law Judge ruled that IBP’s use of the agreement was not an unfair practice.

P&S appealed the Administrative Law Judge’s decision to USDA’s Judicial Officer (JO). However, the JO ruled that IBP’s use of the agreement was not an unfair practice because the evidence did not prove that other feedlots or producers were harmed by the agreement. In addition, the JO ruled that the right of first refusal given to IBP under the agreement has the effect of reducing competition, and is, therefore, an unfair practice. IBP appealed the JO’s decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

Hog Procurement Investigation

USDA released the results of the Western Cornbelt Hog Procurement Investigation, recently completed by GIPSA. The investigation revealed substantial differences in hog characteristics and prices among pricing and procurement methods and seller sizes. Hogs sold on the spot market, hogs sold on a live-weight basis, live-weight pricing, and hogs sold by smaller sellers tended to exhibit lower hog quality characteristics and received lower prices. Price comparisons indicated that publicly reported prices did not reflect actual purchase prices.

Orders Issued and Penalties Assessed

Over the past 3 years, 115 decisions and orders have been issued against 183 individuals and firms for violating the P&S Act. The orders included more than $366,380 in civil penalties and 314 cease and desist provisions involving unfair trade practices or anticompetitive activities.

New Toll-Free Number for Livestock Marketing Complaints

GIPSA established a toll-free number (1-800-998-3447) to allow producers and the general public to file complaints and report market abuse.

New Technology To Measure Grain Moisture

GIPSA implemented a new official grain moisture meter, which marks a transition to new technology for moisture measurement for the official grain inspection system. The new meter offers increased speed and reliability.

Testing Services for Corn Oil, Protein, and Starch

As part of GIPSA’s efforts to keep pace with an increasingly sophisticated market that requires end-use quality information, it began offering a new testing service for corn oil, protein, and starch.

Opening Markets and Keeping Them Open

APHIS supports agricultural trade by providing our trading partners with scientific data indicating that U.S. products are free of pests and diseases of concern and ensuring that any trade restrictions placed on our products are based on sound science. As a result of these efforts, APHIS played a key role in removing 77 foreign trade barriers in FY 1997. U.S. agricultural producers can now ship tomatoes to Japan; table grapes to China; lemons, kiwis, oranges, and grapefruit to Chile; sweet cherries to Mexico; live swine to Argentina and Peru; and rough rice to Ecuador. Annually, these new markets have been responsible for enabling $2.2 billion in threatened and new agricultural trade opportunities to take place.

GIPSA worked with APHIS and the Foreign Agricultural Service to convince Sanidad Vegetal (the Mexican plant quarantine authority) to suspend implementation of two new regulations that would have halted exports of U.S. wheat and sorghum to Mexico for potential Tilletia controversa (Kuhn).

Efforts Against Alien Invasive Species

Recently, infestations of the Asian long-horned beetle–a highly destructive pest of maple and other hardwood trees–have been discovered in New York and Illinois. The introduction of this pest underlines the need to coordinate efforts to combat such introductions

APHIS is cooperating in Vice President Gore’s Alien Species Initiative, a program initiated in June 1997 to create a national strategy regarding the introduction of alien invasive species. More than 20 Federal agencies have some role in dealing with invasive plant and animal pests, which are estimated to cost U.S. agriculture more than $12 billion per year. Now, these agencies are coordinating their efforts through a National Invasive Species Council, which is currently working with State, local, and tribal governments.

Control and Eradication Efforts

APHIS is responsible for protecting U.S. agriculture from outbreaks of exotic animal and plant pests and diseases. For example, the Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) is one of the most devastating pests. After detections of the Medfly in Florida, APHIS joined State and local counterparts in a large-scale eradication effort. Due to this effort, no Medflies have been detected in Florida since FY 1998.

APHIS has had success working with State and local cooperators on three major animal disease eradication programs: brucellosis, tuberculosis, and pseudorabies. Currently, 43 States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have been recognized by the State-Federal brucellosis eradication program as brucellosis-free, and 45 States and the Virgin Islands are accredited free of bovine tuberculosis. While only 31 States are currently free of swine pseudorabies, APHIS expects to achieve total eradication of this disease by the end of the year 2000.

Yellowstone Bison

APHIS has been actively involved with other Federal and State agencies in efforts to resolve the problems associated with the brucellosis-infected bison herd in Yellowstone National Park. The goal of these efforts is to reduce the potential for transmission of brucellosis from infected bison to livestock and disease-free bison and elk populations in the area.

To determine a long-term strategy for the bison, a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) was published in June 1998 with the Department of Interior’s National Park Service, USDA’s Forest Service, APHIS, and the State of Montana as signatories. APHIS officials have finalized a brucellosis quarantine protocol for Yellowstone bison; animals that are certified free of brucellosis under this protocol will be able to be released to Native American tribes, parks, preserves, or other appropriate recipients. .

Reduction in Fees

Cotton growers are paying less for cotton classification services than they did a few years ago. Through office consolidations, automation, improved automatic data handling, and the rapid utilization of newly developed equipment with lower labor requirements, the cotton classification fee for the 1998 crop is $1.30. In 1994 the fee was $1.80.

Bison Now Part of Food Purchase Program

Secretary Glickman’s April 30 authorization of up to $2.5 million to purchase ground bison helped to reduce the large inventories.

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Reaches Out to Small and Minority Vendors

In September 1998, 22 small firms representing a diverse cross section of more than 400 small meat, poultry, and fruit and vegetable processors and dealers were invited to a USDA workshop to explore ways to increase small business participation in USDA’s purchase programs.

Promoting Farmers Markets

Finding a farmers market whether in your State or in another State is as easy as flipping the pages of the 1998 National Farmers Market Directory. The list of 2,746 farmers markets operating throughout the United States provides a comprehensive summary of market locations and hours of operation.

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking to the Farmers Market

Finding a farmers market on Federal property is as easy as dialing the farmers market hotline. By calling 1-800-384-8704 farmers, vendors, customers, and market cooperators may obtain recorded information on dates, times, directions, and other information about participating in USDA-sponsored markets on Federal property.

Eggs-tra Eggs-tra

The poultry and egg industry is reading all about a wide range of supply, demand, and price information as well as market comments about international marketing of poultry and eggs in a new weekly poultry market news report. The weekly International Egg and Poultry Review is available every Tuesday on a subscription basis by facsimile transmission and free on the Internet.

$1.2 Million in Projects

Through AMS’ Federal State Marketing Improvement Program, USDA awarded $1.2 million for 24 projects in 18 States in FY 1998. This will allow State agencies to conduct a wide range of research and service projects aimed at improving the marketing, distribution, and use of agricultural products.

One-Stop Shopping

Members of the produce industry seeking several market news reports can now visit the Market News Customer Service Center in Fresno, California. The Customer Service Center provides customers with consistent reports that are provided in a timely manner.

Small farmers now have a one-stop information source for AMS farmer direct marketing activities. The website, www.ams.usda.gov/directmarketing, provides State contacts and links to appropriate Federal, State, university, and other websites relating to direct marketing.

RuleMakingMadeEasy.Gov

USDA is a 1998 recipient of the Government Technology Leadership Award. The award is for AMS’ use of the Internet and other communication technology in handling more than 280,000 comments received on its proposed rule for the national organic food and fiber standards.

People interested in marketing order information and Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) information can view proposed rulemaking actions and electronically mail comments from both sites. Marketing Order information is available at www.ams.usda.gov/fv/modocketlist.htm and PACA information is available at www.ams.usda.gov/fv/paca/pro-regs.htm

Exporting Dairy Products

U.S. exporters to the European Union (EU) who ship cheese, ice cream, and other dairy products, as well as U.S. manufacturers who ship pizza, cheese crackers, cheese cake mixes, and other processed foods that contain dairy ingredients, will benefit from a new AMS certification program. AMS and a team of dairy industry representatives developed a comprehensive certification program that satisfies the European Commission’s equivalency requirements for dairy products exported to the European Union. Since April 1997, more than 2,000 certificates have been issued, enabling 35 million pounds of U.S. dairy products to enter the EU.