No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4979 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4979
To regulate market concentration and competition in the food and
agriculture industry, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 27, 2023
Mr. Casar (for himself, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Adams, Mr. Bowman, Ms.
Budzinski, Ms. Bush, Mr. Deluzio, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Frost, Mr.
Garamendi, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Jayapal, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Tlaib,
and Mr. Vargas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To regulate market concentration and competition in the food and
agriculture industry, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fairness for
Small-Scale Farmers and Ranchers Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I--MORATORIUM ON AND REVIEW OF LARGE AGRIBUSINESS, FOOD AND
BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING, AND GROCERY RETAIL MERGERS
Sec. 101. Moratorium on large agribusiness, food and beverage
manufacturing, and grocery retail mergers.
Sec. 102. Retroactive review of large agribusiness, food and beverage
manufacturing, and grocery retail mergers.
TITLE II--FARM SYSTEM REFORMS
Sec. 201. Local agriculture market program.
Sec. 202. Restoration of mandatory country of origin labeling for beef
and pork; inclusion of dairy products.
Sec. 203. Definitions in Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921.
Sec. 204. Unlawful practices.
Sec. 205. Spot market purchases of livestock by packers.
Sec. 206. Investigation of live poultry dealers.
Sec. 207. Ensuring fair practices in agriculture.
Sec. 208. Award of attorney fees.
Sec. 209. Review and report on fragility and national security in the
food system.
Sec. 210. Technical amendments.
TITLE III--PROVIDING RESOURCES FOR BEGINNING, RETIRING, AND SOCIALLY
DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS
Sec. 301. Reauthorization and increased funding for beginning,
retiring, and socially disadvantaged
farmers and ranchers.
TITLE IV--LIVESTOCK, DAIRY, AND POULTRY SUPPLY CHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE
Sec. 401. Livestock, dairy, and poultry supply chain infrastructure
grants and loans.
Sec. 402. Pilot program for increased accessibility to inspection and
technical assistance for eligible
processing facilities.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Concentration in the food and agricultural economy,
including mergers, acquisitions, and other combinations and
alliances among suppliers, packers, integrators, other food
processors, distributors, and retailers has been accelerating
at a rapid pace since the 1980s, and particularly since the
2007 through 2009 recession.
(2) The trend toward greater concentration in food and
agriculture has important and far reaching implications not
only for family farmers, but also for food chain workers, the
food we eat, the communities we live in, the integrity of the
natural environment upon which we all depend, and for our
collective public health.
(3) The infant formula industry, for example, has reached
an alarming level of corporate concentration with 4 companies
now controlling nearly 90 percent of the infant formula market.
A disruption in the supply of just 1 infant formula producer
now presents a grave risk to infant health in the United
States.
(4) In the past 4 decades, the top 4 largest pork packers
have seized control of 70 percent of the market, up from 36
percent. Over the same period, the top 4 beef packers have
expanded their market share from 32 percent to 85 percent. The
top 4 flour millers have increased their market share from 40
percent to 64 percent. The market share of the top 4 soybean
crushers has jumped from 54 percent to 79 percent, and the top
4 wet corn processors control of the market has increased from
63 percent to 86 percent.
(5) Today the top 4 sheep, poultry, and fluid milk
processors now control 62 percent, 54 percent, and 50 percent
of the market, respectively.
(6) The top 4 grain companies today control as much as 90
percent of the global grain trade.
(7) During the past 5 years there has been a wave of
consolidation among global seed and crop-chemical firms, 3
companies now control nearly 2/3 of the world's commodity crop
seeds. Those same 3 companies now also control nearly 70
percent of all agricultural chemicals and pesticides.
(8) In the United States, the 4 largest corn seed sellers
accounted for 85 percent of the market in 2015, up from 60
percent in 2000. Over the past 20 years, the cost for an acre's
worth of seeds for an average corn farmer has nearly
quadrupled, and the cost of fertilizer has more than doubled.
Yet corn yields increased only 36 percent over that time, and
the price received for the sale of a bushel of corn increased
only 31 percent.
(9) A handful of firms dominate the processing of every
major commodity. Many of them are vertically integrated, which
means that they control successive stages of the food chain,
from inputs to production to distribution. The growing number
and scale of cross-border agribusiness and food mergers have
put foreign firms, often with considerable government backing,
into prominent and even dominant positions in the United States
beef, hog, poultry, seed, fertilizer, and agrichemical sectors.
(10) Growing concentration of the agricultural sector has
restricted choices for farmers trying to sell their products.
As the bargaining power of agribusiness firms over farmers
increases, concentrated agricultural commodity markets are
stacked against the farmer, with buyers of agricultural
commodities often possessing regional dominance in the form of
oligopsony or monopsony relative to sellers of such
commodities.
(11) The high concentration and consolidation of buyers in
agricultural markets has resulted in the thinning of both cash
and future markets, thereby allowing dominant buyers to
leverage their market shares to move those markets to the
detriment of family farmers and ranchers.
(12) Buyers with oligopsonistic or monopsonistic power have
incentives to engage in unfair and discriminatory acts that
cause farmers to receive less than a competitive price for
their goods. At the same time, some Federal courts have
incorrectly required a plaintiff to show harm to competition
generally, in addition to harm to the individual farmer, when
making a determination that an unfair, unjustly discriminatory,
deceptive, or preferential act exists under the Packers and
Stockyards Act of 1921.
(13) The farmer's share of every retail dollar has
plummeted from 41 percent in 1950, to less than 15 percent
today, while the profit share for farm input, marketing, and
processing companies has risen.
(14) While agribusiness conglomerates are posting record
earnings, farmers are facing desperate times. Since 2013, net
farm income for United States farmers has fallen by more than
half and median on farm income was negative in 2020.
(15) The benefits of low commodity prices are not being
passed on to American consumers. The gap between what shoppers
pay for food and what farmers are paid is growing wider.
(16) The steadily rising price of food has outpaced growth
in incomes for typical workers. Since the Great Recession, the
annual growth of real prices for food at the supermarket have
risen nearly 3 times faster than typical earnings.
(17) There is a growing consensus that economic
consolidation contributes to the widening gap in economic
opportunity in the United States and bigger, more dominant
firms are more likely to deliver profits to investors than to
raise wages or benefits. Mega-mergers in the food and
agribusiness industries can lead to growing monopsony power
abuse resulting in wage suppression, along with massive layoffs
as companies shutter factories and facilities, harming working
families and communities.
(18) Concentration, low prices, anticompetitive practices,
and other manipulations and abuses of the agricultural economy
are driving small family farmers out of business. Farmers are
going bankrupt or giving up, and few are taking their places;
more farm families are having to rely on other jobs to stay
afloat. Seventy-nine percent of farm household income came from
off farm work in 2020, up from 53 percent in 1960.
(19) Eighty-one percent of America's farmed cropland is now
controlled by 15 percent of farms, and the number of farmers
leaving the land will continue to increase unless and until
these trends are reversed.
(20) The decline of small family farms undermines the
economies of rural communities across America; it has pushed
Main Street businesses, from equipment suppliers to small
banks, out of business or to the brink of insolvency.
(21) Increased concentration in the agribusiness sector has
a harmful effect on the environment; corporate hog farming, for
example, threatens the integrity of local water supplies and
creates noxious odors in neighboring communities. Concentration
also can increase the risks to food safety and limit the
biodiversity of plants and animals.
(22) The decline of family farming poses a direct threat to
American families and family values, by subjecting farm
families to turmoil and stress. Farm advocates across the
country are reporting an increase in farmer suicides over the
past several years.
(23) The decline of family farming causes the demise of
rural communities, as stores lose customers, churches lose
congregations, schools and clinics become under-used, career
opportunities for young people dry up, and local inequalities
of wealth and income grow wider.
(24) These developments are not the result of inevitable
market forces. Its problems arise rather from policies made in
Washington, including farm, antitrust, and trade policies.
(25) Past congressional action to remediate market failure,
such as enacting country-of-origin labeling to provide
transparency for domestic farmers, ranchers, and consumers
regarding agricultural commodity origins, have been overturned
for key commodities by oligopolistic conglomerates that use
undifferentiated imports to reduce domestic farm prices.
(26) To restore competition in the agricultural economy,
and to increase the bargaining power and enhance economic
prospects for family farmers, the trend toward concentration
must be reversed.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agricultural input supplier.--The term ``agricultural
input supplier'' means any person (excluding agricultural
cooperatives) engaged in the business of selling, in interstate
or foreign commerce, any product to be used as an input
(including seed, germ plasm, hormones, antibiotics, fertilizer,
and chemicals, but excluding farm machinery) for the production
of any agricultural commodity, except that no person shall be
considered an agricultural input supplier if sales of such
products are for a value less than $10,000,000 per year.
(2) Broker.--The term ``broker'' means any person engaged
in the business of negotiating sales and purchases of any
agricultural commodity in interstate or foreign commerce for or
on behalf of the vendor or the purchaser, except that no person
shall be considered a broker if the only sales of such
commodities are for a value less than $10,000,000 per year.
(3) Commission merchant.--The term ``commission merchant''
means any person engaged in the business of receiving in
interstate or foreign commerce any agricultural commodity for
sale, on commission, or for or on behalf of another, except
that no person shall be considered a commission merchant if the
only sales of such commodities are for a value less than
$10,000,000 per year.
(4) Dealer.--The term ``dealer'' means any person
(excluding agricultural cooperatives) engaged in the business
of buying, selling, or marketing agricultural commodities in
interstate or foreign commerce, except that--
(A) no person shall be considered a dealer with
respect to sales or marketing of any agricultural
commodity of that person's own raising; and
(B) no person shall be considered a dealer if the
only sales of such commodities are for a value less
than $10,000,000 per year.
(5) Distributor.--The term ``distributor'' means any entity
engaged in the business of distributing agricultural products
from producers or manufacturers to consumers, restaurants, or
retailers.
(6) Integrator.--The term ``integrator'' means an entity
that contracts with farmers for grower services to raise
chickens or hogs to slaughter size and weight. The integrator
owns the chickens or hogs, supplies the feed, slaughters, and
further processes the poultry or pork.
(7) Processor.--The term ``processor'' means any person
(excluding agricultural cooperatives) engaged in the business
of handling, preparing, or manufacturing (including
slaughtering and food and beverage manufacturing) of an
agricultural commodity, or the products of such agricultural
commodity, for sale or marketing for human consumption, except
that no person shall be considered a processor if the only
sales of such products are for a value less than $10,000,000
per year.
(8) Retailer.--The term ``retailer'' means any person
(excluding agricultural cooperatives, cooperative retailers,
and cooperative distributers) licensed as a retailer under the
Perishable Agriculture Commodities Act of 1930 (7 U.S.C.
499a(b)), except that no person shall be considered a retailer
if the only sales of such products are for a value less than
$10,000,000 per year.
TITLE I--MORATORIUM ON AND REVIEW OF LARGE AGRIBUSINESS, FOOD AND
BEVERAGE MANUFACTURING, AND GROCERY RETAIL MERGERS
SEC. 101. MORATORIUM ON LARGE AGRIBUSINESS, FOOD AND BEVERAGE
MANUFACTURING, AND GROCERY RETAIL MERGERS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Moratorium.--Until the date referred to in paragraph
(2) and except as provided in subsection (b)--
(A) no dealer, processor, commission merchant,
agricultural input supplier, broker, or operator of a
warehouse of agricultural commodities or retailer with
annual net sales or total assets of more than
$222,000,000 shall merge or acquire, directly or
indirectly, any voting securities or assets of any
other dealer, processor, commission merchant,
agricultural input supplier, broker, or operator of a
warehouse of agricultural commodities or retailer with
annual net sales or total assets of more than
$22,000,000; and
(B) no dealer, processor, commission merchant,
agricultural input supplier, broker, or operator of a
warehouse of agricultural commodities or retailer with
annual net sales or total assets of more than
$22,000,000 shall merge or acquire, directly or
indirectly, any voting securities or assets of any
other dealer, processor, commission merchant,
agricultural input supplier, broker, or operator of a
warehouse of agricultural commodities or retailer with
annual net sales or total assets of more than
$222,000,000 if the acquiring person would hold--
(i) 15 percent or more of the voting
securities or assets of the acquired person; or
(ii) an aggregate total amount of the
voting securities and assets of the acquired
person in excess of $21,000,000.
(2) Date.--The date referred to in this paragraph is the
effective date of comprehensive legislation enacted on or after
the date on which the reviews referred to in section 102(a) are
completed--
(A) for addressing the problem of market
concentration in the food and agricultural sector; and
(B) that terminates the moratorium under paragraph
(1).
(b) Waiver Authority.--The Attorney General shall have authority to
waive the moratorium imposed by subsection (a) only under extraordinary
circumstances, such as insolvency or similar financial distress of 1 of
the affected parties.
(c) Exemptions.--The classes of transactions described in section
7A(c) of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a(c)) are exempt from subsection
(a).
(d) Avoidance.--Any transaction or other device entered into or
employed for the purpose of avoiding the moratorium contained in
subsection (a) shall be disregarded, and the application of the
moratorium shall be determined by applying subsection (a) to the
substance of the transaction.
(e) Rulemaking.--The Attorney General shall promulgate regulations
that the Attorney General determines are necessary to implement this
section. In making the determination under the preceding sentence, the
Attorney General shall consult with the Federal Trade Commission.
SEC. 102. RETROACTIVE REVIEW OF LARGE AGRIBUSINESS, FOOD AND BEVERAGE
MANUFACTURING, AND GROCERY RETAIL MERGERS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission
shall review each merger that the Attorney General and the Federal
Trade Commission have reviewed since January 1, 2006, that was subject
to a premerger notification and waiting period pursuant to section 7A
of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a) in which a dealer, processor,
distributor, commission merchant, agricultural input supplier, broker,
or operator of a warehouse of agricultural commodities or retailer
merged or acquired, directly or indirectly, any voting securities or
assets of any other dealer, processor, distributor, commission
merchant, agricultural input supplier, broker, or operator of a
warehouse of agricultural commodities or retailer.
(b) Unwinding.--The Attorney General and the Federal Trade
Commission shall consider whether to unwind a merger reviewed under
subsection (a) to restore competition, and may so unwind such merger,
if the Attorney General or the Federal Trade Commission determines that
the merger brought material harm to--
(1) competition nationally or in local markets;
(2) farmers and ranchers;
(3) workers; or
(4) consumers.
(c) Investigative Authority.--In conducting a review of a merger
under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall have the same power as
the Federal Trade Commission under section 6(b) of the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 46(b)) with respect to such review.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--In addition to such other
amounts as may be made available to the Federal Trade Commission and
the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, there is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section for fiscal year
2024 and each fiscal year thereafter--
(1) $50,000,000 for the Federal Trade Commission; and
(2) $50,000,000 for the Antitrust Division of the
Department of Justice.
(e) Fines and Penalties.--The Federal Trade Commission and the
Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice may use any funds from
fines, penalties, and settlements not returned to consumers for their
respective future operations.
(f) Additional Appropriations.--To the extent there are
insufficient funds from fines, penalties, settlements, and fees
received by the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of
the Department of Justice for the costs of their respective programs,
projects, and activities, there are appropriated, out of monies in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for fiscal year 2024 and each
fiscal year thereafter such sums as are necessary for the costs of such
programs, projects, and activities.
TITLE II--FARM SYSTEM REFORMS
SEC. 201. LOCAL AGRICULTURE MARKET PROGRAM.
Section 210A(i)(1) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7
U.S.C. 1627c(i)(1)) is amended by striking ``fiscal year 2019'' and
inserting ``each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025, and $500,000,000 for
fiscal year 2026''.
SEC. 202. RESTORATION OF MANDATORY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING FOR BEEF
AND PORK; INCLUSION OF DAIRY PRODUCTS.
(a) Definitions.--Section 281 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of
1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2) through (5), (6),
and (7) as paragraphs (2), (4) through (7), (9), and (10),
respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(1) Beef.--The term `beef' means meat produced from
cattle (including veal).'';
(3) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated)--
(A) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``lamb'' and
inserting ``beef, lamb, pork,'';
(ii) in clause (ii), by striking ``ground
lamb'' and inserting ``ground beef, ground
lamb, ground pork,'';
(iii) in clause (x), by striking ``and'' at
the end;
(iv) in clause (xi), by striking the period
at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(v) by adding at the end the following:
``(xii) dairy products.''; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ``(other than
clause (xii) of that subparagraph)'' after
``subparagraph (A)'';
(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(3) Dairy product.--The term `dairy product' means--
``(A) fluid milk;
``(B) cheese, including cottage cheese and cream
cheese;
``(C) yogurt;
``(D) ice cream;
``(E) butter; and
``(F) any other dairy product.''; and
(5) by inserting after paragraph (7) (as so redesignated)
the following:
``(8) Pork.--The term `pork' means meat produced from
hogs.''.
(b) Notice of Country of Origin.--Section 282(a) of the
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1638a(a)) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(5) Designation of country of origin for dairy
products.--
``(A) In general.--A retailer of a covered
commodity that is a dairy product shall designate the
origin of the covered commodity as--
``(i) each country in which or from which
the 1 or more dairy ingredients or dairy
components of the covered commodity were
produced, originated, or sourced; and
``(ii) each country in which the covered
commodity was processed.
``(B) State, region, locality of the united
states.--With respect to a covered commodity that is a
dairy product produced exclusively in the United
States, designation by a retailer of the State, region,
or locality of the United States where the covered
commodity was produced shall be sufficient to identify
the United States as the country of origin.''.
SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS IN PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS ACT, 1921.
Section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C.
182(a)), is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``When used in this Act--'' and inserting ``In this Act:'';
(2) in paragraph (8), by striking ``for slaughter'' and all
that follows through ``of such poultry'' and inserting ``under
a poultry growing arrangement, regardless of whether the
poultry is owned by that person or another person'';
(3) in paragraph (9), by striking ``and cares for live
poultry for delivery, in accord with another's instructions,
for slaughter'' and inserting ``or cares for live poultry in
accordance with the instructions of another person'';
(4) in each of paragraphs (1) through (9), by striking the
semicolon at the end and inserting a period;
(5) in paragraph (10)--
(A) by striking ``for the purpose of either
slaughtering it or selling it for slaughter by
another''; and
(B) by striking ``; and'' at the end and inserting
a period; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(15) Formula price.--
``(A) In general.--The term `formula price' means
any price term that establishes a base from which a
purchase price is calculated on the basis of a price
that will not be determined or reported until a date
that is after the date on which the forward price is
established.
``(B) Exclusion.--The term `formula price' does not
include--
``(i) any price term that establishes a
base from which a purchase price is calculated
on the basis of a futures market price; or
``(ii) any adjustment to the base for
quality, grade, or other factors relating to
the value of livestock or livestock products
that are readily verifiable market factors and
are outside the control of the packer.
``(16) Forward contract.--The term `forward contract' means
an oral or written contract for the purchase of livestock that
provides for the delivery of the livestock to a packer at a
date that is more than 7 days after the date on which the
contract is entered into, without regard to whether the
contract is for--
``(A) a specified lot of livestock; or
``(B) a specified number of livestock over a
certain period of time.''.
SEC. 204. UNLAWFUL PRACTICES.
(a) In General.--Section 202 of the Packers and Stockyards Act,
1921 (7 U.S.C. 192), is amended to read as follows:
``SEC. 202. UNLAWFUL ACTS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Base price.--
``(A) In general.--The term `base price' means the
price established in a poultry production contract that
corresponds to the stated value provided by the
independent contract producer under the terms of the
contract, prior to the assessment of any performance-
based premium or penalty.
``(B) Square footage.--The price described in
subparagraph (A) may be established using the price per
square foot of contracted farm infrastructure or price
per pound of poultry production.
``(2) Cooperative association of producers.--The term
`cooperative association of producers' means a cooperative
association (as defined in section 15(a) of the Agricultural
Marketing Act (12 U.S.C. 1141j(a))) engaged in marketing,
bargaining, shipping, or processing agricultural products.
``(3) Expected performance standard.--The term `expected
performance standard' means, with respect to a poultry
production contract, a standard established in the contract for
the growth and health performance of live poultry under the
management of an independent contract producer, which may
include expected mortality, weight gain, or feed conversion
efficiency.
``(4) Independent contract producer.--The term `independent
contract producer' means an agricultural producer that--
``(A) enters into a contract to manage the
production of an agricultural commodity owned by a live
poultry dealer or another contracting party; and
``(B) is not a member of a cooperative association
of producers that has engaged in bargaining with the
other contracting party.
``(5) Minimum price.--The term `minimum price' means a
contractually guaranteed price floor within a poultry
production contract below which the final price delivered to an
independent contract producer may not be reduced, including by
performance-based penalties.
``(6) Performance-based incentive formula.--The term
`performance-based incentive formula' means a formula designed
to compare the real performance of live poultry being managed
by an independent contract producer relative to an expected
performance standard.
``(7) Poultry production contract.--The term `poultry
production contract' means an oral or written contract
established between a live poultry dealer and an independent
contract producer in which the independent contract producer
provides the land, farm infrastructure, or management labor of
the independent contract producer to house and raise live
poultry owned by the live poultry dealer.
``(b) General Rule.--It shall be unlawful for any packer or swine
contractor with respect to livestock, meats, meat food products, or
livestock products in unmanufactured form, or for any live poultry
dealer with respect to live poultry, to do any of the following:
``(1) Engage in or use any unfair, unjustly discriminatory,
or deceptive practice or device.
``(2) Make or give any undue or unreasonable preference or
advantage to any particular person or locality in any respect,
or subject any particular person or locality to any undue or
unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in any respect.
``(3) Sell or otherwise transfer to or for any other
packer, swine contractor, or any live poultry dealer, or buy or
otherwise receive from or for any other packer, swine
contractor, or any live poultry dealer, any article for the
purpose or with the effect of apportioning the supply between
any such persons, if such apportionment has the tendency or
effect of restraining commerce or of creating a monopoly.
``(4) Sell or otherwise transfer to or for any other
person, or buy or otherwise receive from or for any other
person, any article for the purpose or with the effect of
manipulating or controlling prices, or of creating a monopoly
in the acquisition of, buying, selling, or dealing in, any
article, or of restraining commerce.
``(5) Engage in any course of business or do any act for
the purpose or with the effect or manipulating or controlling
prices, or of creating a monopoly in the acquisition of,
buying, selling, or dealing in, any article, or of restraining
commerce.
``(6) Conspire, combine, agree, or arrange with any other
person--
``(A) to apportion territory for carrying on
business;
``(B) to apportion purchases or sales of any
article; or
``(C) to manipulate or control prices.
``(7) Use, in effectuating any sale of livestock, a forward
contract that--
``(A) does not contain a firm base price that may
be equated to a fixed dollar amount on the date on
which the forward contract is entered into;
``(B) is not offered for bid in an open, public
manner under which--
``(i) buyers and sellers have the
opportunity to participate in the bid;
``(ii) more than 1 blind bid is solicited;
and
``(iii) buyers and sellers may witness bids
that are made and accepted;
``(C) is based on a formula price; or
``(D) provides for the sale of livestock in a
quantity in excess of--
``(i) in the case of cattle, 40 cattle;
``(ii) in the case of swine, 30 swine; and
``(iii) in the case of another type of
livestock, a comparable quantity of that type
of livestock, as determined by the Secretary.
``(8) Own or feed livestock directly, through a subsidiary,
or through an arrangement that gives a packer operational,
managerial, or supervisory control over the livestock, or over
the farming operation that produces the livestock, to such an
extent that the producer of the livestock is not materially
participating in the management of the operation with respect
to the production of the livestock, except that this paragraph
shall not apply to--
``(A) an arrangement entered into not more than 7
business days before slaughter of the livestock by a
packer, a person acting through the packer, or a person
that directly or indirectly controls, or is controlled
by or under common control with, the packer;
``(B) a cooperative or entity owned by a
cooperative, if a majority of the ownership interest in
the cooperative is held by active cooperative members
that--
``(i) own, feed, or control the livestock;
and
``(ii) provide the livestock to the
cooperative for slaughter;
``(C) a packer that is not required to report to
the Secretary on each reporting day (as defined in
section 212 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946
(7 U.S.C. 1635a)) information on the price and quantity
of livestock purchased by the packer; or
``(D) a packer that owns only 1 livestock
processing plant.
``(9) Take any action that adversely affects or is likely
to adversely affect competition, regardless of whether there is
a business justification for the action.
``(10) Conspire, combine, agree, or arrange with any other
person to do, or aid or abet the doing of, any act made
unlawful by paragraphs (1) through (9).
``(c) Unfair, Discriminatory, and Deceptive Practices and
Devices.--Acts by a packer, swine contractor, or live poultry dealer
that violate subsection (b)(1) include the following:
``(1) Refusal to provide, on the request of a livestock
producer, swine production contract grower, or poultry grower
with which the packer, swine contractor, or live poultry dealer
has a marketing or delivery contract, the relevant statistical
information and data used to determine the compensation paid to
the livestock producer, swine production contract grower, or
poultry grower, as applicable, under the contract, including--
``(A) feed conversion rates by house, lot, or pen;
``(B) feed analysis;
``(C) breeder history;
``(D) quality grade;
``(E) yield grade; and
``(F) delivery volume for any certified branding
program (such as programs for angus beef or certified
grassfed or Berkshire pork).
``(2) Conduct or action that limits or attempts to limit by
contract the legal rights and remedies of a livestock producer,
swine production contract grower, or poultry grower, including
the right--
``(A) to a trial by jury, unless the livestock
producer, swine production contract grower, or poultry
grower, as applicable, is voluntarily bound by an
arbitration provision in a contract;
``(B) to pursue all damages available under
applicable law; and
``(C) to seek an award of attorneys' fees, if
available under applicable law.
``(3) Termination of a poultry growing arrangement or swine
production contract with no basis other than an allegation that
the poultry grower or swine production contract grower failed
to comply with an applicable law, rule, or regulation.
``(4) A representation, omission, or practice that is
likely to mislead a livestock producer, swine production
contract grower, or poultry grower regarding a material
condition or term in a contract or business transaction.
``(d) Undue or Unreasonable Preferences, Advantages, Prejudices,
and Disadvantages.--
``(1) In general.--Acts by a packer, swine contractor, or
live poultry dealer that violate subsection (b)(2) include the
following:
``(A) The execution, termination, extension, or
renewal of a contract or agreement that materially
disadvantages a livestock producer, swine production
contract grower, or poultry grower unless the packer,
swine contractor, or live poultry dealer can show, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that the acts were
predominantly motivated by--
``(i) compliance with applicable
regulations;
``(ii) a distinct and materially
disadvantageous change to the financial
relationship with the livestock producer, swine
production contract grower, or poultry grower;
or
``(iii) the termination of operations in
the geographic region by the packer, swine
contractor, or live poultry dealer.
``(B) The failure to meet the requirements
described in paragraph (2).
``(C) In the case of a poultry production contract
that contains a performance-based incentive formula,
the failure to meet the requirements described in
paragraph (3).
``(2) Payment by square footage.--The requirements
described in this paragraph are as follows:
``(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), a live poultry
dealer shall structure any poultry production contract
in a manner that provides for payment by the square
footage of the barn or facility space in which the live
birds that are subject to the contract are reared and
raised.
``(B) In lieu of providing for payment by the
square footage of the barn or facility space in which
the live birds that are subject to the contract are
reared and raised, a live poultry dealer may meet the
requirement specified in subparagraph (A) if the dealer
includes in the poultry production contract an
alternative base price provision that was obtained
through negotiations with a cooperative association of
producers representing the individual independent
contract producer.
``(3) Use of performance-based incentive formula.--The
requirements described in this paragraph are as follows:
``(A) The poultry production contract shall
guarantee a minimum price.
``(B) The expected performance standard in the
poultry production contract shall be based on at least
a 6-month rolling performance average of all producers
in the complex of the independent contract producer.
``(C) The performance-based incentive formula shall
not assess a premium or penalty percentage that exceeds
the percentage difference between the performance of
the independent contract producer and the expected
performance average.
``(D) The expected performance standard in the
poultry production contract shall be mathematically
adjusted to account for expected performance with
respect to expected mortality, weight, or feed
conversion efficiency, with differences relative to--
``(i) layer flock age and health;
``(ii) predelivery health issues;
``(iii) flock breed;
``(iv) flock pick-up age;
``(v) feed type;
``(vi) feed disruption of 6 hours or more;
and
``(vii) medical care protocols (such as an
antibiotic-free protocol).
``(E) The poultry production contract shall include
a procedure for settling payment outside of the
performance-based payment formula, through a
performance average of at least the last 5 flocks of
the independent contract producer, in the case of the
independent contract producer bringing an appeal
related to input quality or provision issues.
``(e) Harm to Competition Not Required.--In determining whether an
act, device, or conduct is a violation under paragraph (1) or (2) of
subsection (b), a finding that the act, device, or conduct adversely
affected or is likely to adversely affect competition is not
required.''.
(b) Effective Date.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), paragraph (8) of
section 202(b) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7
U.S.C. 192) (as designated by subsection (a)), shall take
effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) Transition rules.--In the case of a packer that, on the
date of enactment of this Act, owns, feeds, or controls
livestock intended for slaughter in violation of paragraph (8)
of section 202(b) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7
U.S.C. 192) (as designated by subsection (a)), that paragraph
shall take effect--
(A) in the case of a packer of swine, beginning on
the date that is 18 months after the date of enactment
of this Act; and
(B) in the case of a packer of any other type of
livestock, beginning not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, as determined by the
Secretary.
SEC. 205. SPOT MARKET PURCHASES OF LIVESTOCK BY PACKERS.
The Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, is amended by inserting after
section 202 (7 U.S.C. 192) the following:
``SEC. 202A. SPOT MARKET PURCHASES OF LIVESTOCK BY PACKERS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Covered packer.--
``(A) In general.--The term `covered packer' means
a packer that is required under subtitle B of the
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635 et
seq.) to report to the Secretary each reporting day (as
defined in section 212 of the Agricultural Marketing
Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635a)) information on the price
and quantity of livestock purchased by the packer.
``(B) Exclusion.--The term `covered packer' does
not include a packer that owns only 1 livestock
processing plant.
``(2) Nonaffiliated producer.--The term `nonaffiliated
producer' means a producer of livestock--
``(A) that sells livestock to a packer;
``(B) that has less than 1 percent equity interest
in the packer;
``(C) that has no officers, directors, employees,
or owners that are officers, directors, employees, or
owners of the packer;
``(D) that has no fiduciary responsibility to the
packer; and
``(E) in which the packer has no equity interest.
``(3) Spot market sale.--
``(A) In general.--The term `spot market sale'
means a purchase and sale of livestock by a packer from
a producer--
``(i) under an agreement that specifies a
firm base price that may be equated with a
fixed dollar amount on the date the agreement
is entered into;
``(ii) under which the livestock are
slaughtered not more than 7 days after the date
on which the agreement is entered into; and
``(iii) under circumstances in which a
reasonable competitive bidding opportunity
exists on the date on which the agreement is
entered into.
``(B) Reasonable competitive bidding opportunity.--
For the purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii), a reasonable
competitive bidding opportunity shall be considered to
exist if--
``(i) no written or oral agreement
precludes the producer from soliciting or
receiving bids from other packers; and
``(ii) no circumstance, custom, or practice
exists that--
``(I) establishes the existence of
an implied contract (as determined in
accordance with the Uniform Commercial
Code); and
``(II) precludes the producer from
soliciting or receiving bids from other
packers.
``(b) General Rule.--Of the quantity of livestock that is
slaughtered by a covered packer during each reporting day (as defined
in section 212 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C.
1635a)) in each plant, the covered packer shall slaughter not less than
the applicable percentage specified in subsection (c) of the quantity
through spot market sales from nonaffiliated producers.
``(c) Applicable Percentages.--
``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
applicable percentage shall be 50 percent.
``(2) Exceptions.--In the case of a covered packer that
reported to the Secretary in the 2020 annual report that more
than 60 percent of the livestock of the covered packer were
committed procurement livestock, the applicable percentage
shall be the greater of--
``(A) the difference between the percentage of
committed procurement livestock so reported and 100
percent; and
``(B)(i) during each of calendar years 2024 and
2025, 20 percent;
``(ii) during each of calendar years 2026 and 2027,
30 percent; and
``(iii) during calendar year 2028 and each calendar
year thereafter, 50 percent.
``(d) Nonpreemption.--This section does not preempt any requirement
of a State or political subdivision of a State that requires a covered
packer to purchase on the spot market a greater percentage of the
livestock purchased by the covered packer than is required under this
section.''.
SEC. 206. INVESTIGATION OF LIVE POULTRY DEALERS.
(a) Administrative Enforcement Authority Over Live Poultry
Dealers.--Sections 203, 204, and 205 of the Packers and Stockyards Act,
1921 (7 U.S.C. 193, 194, 195), are amended by inserting ``, live
poultry dealer,'' after ``packer'' each place it appears.
(b) Authority To Request Temporary Injunction or Restraining
Order.--Section 408 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C.
228a), is amended by inserting ``or poultry care'' after ``on account
of poultry''.
(c) Violations by Live Poultry Dealers.--Section 411 of the Packers
and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 228b-2), is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by striking
``any provision of section 207 or section 410 of''; and
(2) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by striking
``any provisions of section 207 or section 410'' and inserting
``any provision''.
SEC. 207. ENSURING FAIR PRACTICES IN AGRICULTURE.
Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Agriculture shall implement, without amendment, the
final rule titled ``Unfair Practices and Undue Preferences in Violation
of the Packers and Stockyards Act'' and published in the Federal
Register by the Department of Agriculture on December 20, 2016 (81 Fed.
Reg. 92703).
SEC. 208. AWARD OF ATTORNEY FEES.
Section 204 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 194),
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i) Attorney's fee.--The court shall
award a reasonable attorney's fee as part of
the costs to a prevailing plaintiff in a civil
action under this section.''.
SEC. 209. REVIEW AND REPORT ON FRAGILITY AND NATIONAL SECURITY IN THE
FOOD SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall--
(1) conduct a review of the fragility of the food system in
the United States with respect to meat, poultry, and dairy; and
(2) submit to Congress a report containing the results of
such review.
(b) Requirements.--The report under subsection (a) shall include
information on, and an analysis of--
(1) the reach of corporate consolidation and corporate
control of the meat, poultry, and dairy supply chain, including
animal feed, inputs for animal feed, processing, and
distribution;
(2) the effects of corporate consolidation and corporate
control of the meat, poultry, and dairy supply chain on--
(A) consumers, farmers, rural communities, and
meat, poultry, and dairy processing workers;
(B) greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and
costs borne by communities to adapt to climate change;
(C) water quality, soil quality, air quality, and
biodiversity; and
(D) politics and political lobbying;
(3)(A) the extent to which Department of Agriculture rules
and regulations designed for large covered establishments are
applied to small- and medium-sized covered establishments; and
(B) the need for the Secretary of Agriculture to adapt
rules and regulations to benefit small- and medium-sized
covered establishments;
(4) the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on meat, poultry,
and dairy exports; meat, poultry, and dairy cold storage
inventories; processing rates of meat, poultry, and dairy; and
the net profits earned by owners of covered establishments;
(5) the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on meat, poultry,
and dairy prices paid--
(A) to farmers; and
(B) by consumers;
(6) Federal support for the corporations that control the
largest percentage of the meat, poultry, and dairy industry
through contracts, procurement, subsidies, and other
mechanisms;
(7) the risk of disruption caused by corporate
consolidation among covered establishments, including an
analysis of food supply chain issues resulting from the COVID-
19 pandemic; and
(8) the extent to which breaking up the meat packing
oligopoly and the dairy processing oligopoly would increase
food system resiliency for the next pandemic.
(c) Covered Establishment Defined.--In this section, the term
``covered establishment'' means--
(1) an establishment that is subject to inspection under
the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
(2) an establishment that is subject to inspection under
the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.);
and
(3) an establishment--
(A) that is a dairy operation (as defined in
section 1401 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C.
9051)); or
(B) that processes dairy.
SEC. 210. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.
(a) Section 203 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C.
193), is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence--
(A) by striking ``he shall cause'' and inserting
``the Secretary shall cause'';
(B) by striking ``his charges'' and inserting ``the
charges''; and
(C) by striking ``evidence introduced against him''
and inserting ``evidence introduced against the packer,
live poultry dealer, or swine contractor'';
(2) in subsection (b), in the first sentence, by striking
``he shall make a report in writing in which he shall state his
findings'' and inserting ``the Secretary shall make a report in
writing in which the Secretary shall state the findings of the
Secretary''; and
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ``he'' and inserting
``the Secretary''.
(b) Section 204 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C.
194), is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ``he has his'' and
inserting ``the packer, live poultry dealer, or swine
contractor has its'';
(2) in subsection (c), by striking ``his officers,
directors, agents, and employees'' and inserting ``the
officers, directors, agents, and employees of the packer, live
poultry dealer, or swine packer'';
(3) in subsection (f), in the second sentence--
(A) by striking ``his findings'' and inserting
``the findings of the Secretary''; and
(B) by striking ``he'' and inserting ``the
Secretary''; and
(4) in subsection (g), by striking ``his officers,
directors, agents, and employees'' and inserting ``the
officers, directors, agents, and employees of the packer, live
poultry dealer, or swine packer''.
TITLE III--PROVIDING RESOURCES FOR BEGINNING, RETIRING, AND SOCIALLY
DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS
SEC. 301. REAUTHORIZATION AND INCREASED FUNDING FOR BEGINNING,
RETIRING, AND SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND
RANCHERS.
(a) Mandatory Funding.--Section 2501(l)(1) of the Food,
Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(l)(1))
is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'';
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``2023 and each fiscal
year thereafter.'' and inserting ``2023; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024
through 2028.''.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 2501(l)(2) of the
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.
2279(l)(2)) is amended by striking ``$50,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2019 through 2023'' and inserting ``$100,000,000 for each of
fiscal years 2024 through 2028''.
TITLE IV--LIVESTOCK, DAIRY, AND POULTRY SUPPLY CHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE
SEC. 401. LIVESTOCK, DAIRY, AND POULTRY SUPPLY CHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE
GRANTS AND LOANS.
Subtitle D of title III of the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1981 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
``SEC. 379I. LIVESTOCK, DAIRY, AND POULTRY SUPPLY CHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to provide grants or
make or insure loans under any of the programs authorized by this Act,
the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.), or the
Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.), as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate, to assist farmers and rural
businesses and cooperatives to maintain or increase the production,
aggregation, processing, distribution, and marketing of value-added,
niche, or regionally marketed meat, dairy, and poultry products.
``(b) Priority.--In implementing subsection (a), the Secretary
shall give priority to grants or loans that will help increase or
enhance the availability and geographic distribution of small
processing facilities.
``(c) Small Processing Facility Defined.--In this section, the term
`small processing facility' means--
``(1) a selected establishment (as defined in section
501(a) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683(a)));
``(2) a selected establishment (as defined in section 31(a)
of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 472(a))); and
``(3) an establishment that--
``(A) specializes in processing milk, cream, or
dairy products; and
``(B) processes fewer than 100,000 pounds of milk,
cream, or dairy products per day.''.
SEC. 402. PILOT PROGRAM FOR INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY TO INSPECTION AND
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR ELIGIBLE PROCESSING FACILITIES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a 5-year pilot
program within the Food Safety and Inspection Service--
(1) to expand the availability of processing inspectors,
technical assistance, and onsite inspection for eligible
processing facilities, including no-cost overtime inspections;
and
(2) to identify and train part-time inspectors and
technical assistance providers.
(b) Professional Experience.--The Secretary shall determine the
appropriate professional experience of inspectors and providers
described in subsection (a)(2), which shall include individuals with
expertise in veterinary medicine, public health, food service
management, and animal science, as applicable.
(c) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible processing facility.--The term ``eligible
processing facility'' means--
(A) an eligible facility described in section 764
of division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act,
2021 (21 U.S.C. 473), that has a labor peace agreement
in place; and
(B) a dairy processing facility that has a labor
peace agreement in place.
(2) Labor peace agreement.--The term ``labor peace
agreement'' means an agreement--
(A) between an employer and a labor organization
that represents, or is actively seeking to represent,
the employees of the employer; and
(B) under which such employer and labor
organization agree that--
(i) the employer--
(I) will not hinder any effort of
an employee to join a labor
organization; and
(II) will not take any action
that directly or indirectly indicates
or implies any opposition to an
employee joining a labor organization;
(ii) the labor organization agrees to
refrain from picketing, work stoppages, or
boycotts against the employer;
(iii) the employer provides the labor
organization with employee contact information,
and facilitates or permits labor organization
access to employees at the workplace,
including facilitating or permitting the labor
organization to meet with employees to discuss
joining the labor organization; and
(iv) the employer shall, upon the request
of the labor organization, recognize the labor
organization as the bargaining representative
of the employees if a majority of the employees
choose the labor organization as their
bargaining representative.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line