Vilsack Discusses Drought Assistance, Meat Packer Profiteering Accusations

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack recently made the announcement that USDA was updating the emergency assistance for livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish (ELAP) to help cover transportation costs incurred during the drought. On AgriTalk Monday Host Clip Flory asked Vilsack how livestock producers could step up and apply for this relief.

First, Vilsack says, they’ve got to be in an area that qualifies, which means that they have to be in the drought-stricken area that's been D2 designated for eight consecutive weeks or D3 or D4 at any point in time. 

“The second thing is that they need to understand what we're looking at is helping to defray the expenses for longer hauling more than 25 miles away from home, less than 1,000 miles away,” he says. “We're going pay 60% of the difference for most producers of what they would normally incur for transportation expense versus what they are now going to incur. So they'll be working with their local farm service folks to make sure that they get the paperwork and the application process in.”

Flory also asked Vilsack about how the White House and USDA planned to respond to the blog posted by the members of the Council of Economic Advisers last week accusing meatpackers of pandemic profiteering. 

“What we can do is to strengthen packers and stockyards and create greater price discovery with a number of studies that we’re engaged in,” he says. “We can work with Congress on any bills that would provide for greater transparency and create resources to support existing smaller and very small processing capacities so there’s competition and expand the amount of processing capacity in the country, which is why we've pledged $500 million to partner with a number of interests across the country.”

Vilsack shared a story of what he’s hearing from producers as he travels around the country.

“In Council Bluffs a producer comes up to me and says, ‘Secretary, I just sold my cattle. I lost $150 a head. The processor that bought my cattle is going to make $1,800 a head. And consumers are going to pay 8%, 9% more for the beef at the market.’ Well, I don't know, man, that doesn't seem fair to me. What we're concerned about is a fair shake for the producer and fair prices for the consumer,” Vilsack says.

Flory pressed Vilsack about the availability of those funds.

“We have requested information from the from producers and from producer groups as to how they think it should best be managed. We're going to be coming out very soon with a framework,” Vilsack says. “And we've already begun the process of reaching out to potential processing deals and projects that are on the drawing board to determine how best to structure these resources, and we expect and anticipate will start making some decisions later this year, or in the first part of next year.”