NCBA Statement on GIPSA Announcement

The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) announcement that they are beginning the process of initiating three separate rulemakings to support enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.

"Today's announcement from USDA signals the start of a lengthy process, not the conclusion or result. We don't yet have language for proposed rules and we don't expect to see specifics from USDA for some time, but we are actively engaging with the agency to get more information and make sure that the needs of our members are front and center in the administration's thought process," said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall. "As we did in 2010 and again in 2020, NCBA will fight hard to ensure that any regulations created or revised under the Packers and Stockyards Act do not reduce cattle producers' ability to realize higher profits and make the decisions that are best for their business."

NCBA was successful in stopping the burdensome 2010 Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule that took away producer marketing opportunities rather than enhancing them. The Trump Administration brought the GIPSA rule back up for consideration in 2020, but action was paused during the transition to the Biden Administration.

NCBA fought hard in 2020 for greater clarity in the rule, to prevent it from stifling cattle farmers and ranchers' ability to use alternative marketing arrangements (AMAs). AMAs represent an investment in quality, and producers need to be able to access these value-added opportunities to capture the value for that high-quality beef.