Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 9/26/18

Farmers from Alabama and Nebraska will appear today in a federal appeals court in St. Louis to make their case against Perdue's decision last year to scrap two proposed GIPSA rules.

The rules: In one of his first moves as secretary, Perdue rolled back two proposals under USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration that would have made it easier for livestock farmers and poultry growers to challenge meatpacking or processing companies that engage in potentially unfair business practices.

The court case: Poultry farmers suing USDA are backed by the nonprofit legal group Democracy Forward and the Organization for Competitive Markets, an advocacy group. Oral arguments start today in St. Louis before the U.S. Appeals Court for the 8th Circuit.
The plaintiffs argue that USDA defied Congress and failed to provide a legitimate reason for slashing the GIPSA rules.

Joe Maxwell, OCM's executive director and former Missouri lieutenant governor, tells your host the case means "everything to America's independent family farmers, to be ensured they can have a fair shake in the marketplace."

"With these global goliaths out there that control the market, today oftentimes there's just one buyer. They use predatory or retaliatory-type abusive practices to squeeze the farmer, or tell them to go broke because we're not buying your goods," Maxwell said Tuesday.

Supporters of the rollback, including agribusinesses and some GOP ag lawmakers, have said the GIPSA rules would have unleashed a flood of unwarranted litigation against agribusinesses. Perdue has also pledged to make sure contract farmers aren't unfairly disadvantaged by companies.