Source:  NC Ag Council, 11/24/10

The NC Agribusiness Council has submitted comments to USDA opposing the proposed GIPSA rules.  The letter follows:

Ms. Tess Butler
GIPSA, USDA
1400 Independence Avenue, SW,
Room 1643-S,
Washington, DC 20250-3604

Dear Ms. Butler,
As someone who represents the Agribusiness industry in North Carolina, I respectfully must submit our opposition to the proposed GIPSA rule due to the negative effect these rules would have on livestock producers in North Carolina - large and small. At a time when our state is trying to encourage economic development and create jobs - these regulations will kill jobs and squelch our economy.  These rules create uncertainty in an industry that has just barely survived one of the most tumultuous economic periods in recent history. I urge you and staff to review an economic study, conducted by Informa Economics Inc. on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the National Meat Association (NMA), the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the National Turkey Federation (NTF), which shows that the proposed rules would result in job losses of more than 22,800, with an annual drop in gross domestic product by as much as $1.56 billion and an annual loss in tax revenues of $359 million. These rules as currently written are not good for NC Agribusiness because they make it harder to buy and sell livestock, which will only unnecessarily increase costs and lead to lost farm and farm-related jobs and higher meat prices for consumers. The rule is bad for farmers, bad for people who depend on the Agribusiness industry for their livelihoods, bad for consumers and bad for rural America. I urge GIPSA to withdraw the rule and to propose one that sticks to the task directed by Congress -  the five requirements included in the 2008 Farm Bill.
Sincerely,

Erica Upton Peterson
Executive Vice President/CEO
NC Agribusiness Council, Inc.