Source:  Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 12/14/10

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told poultry and meat industry representatives on Monday that USDA will conduct a more thorough cost benefit analysis of new livestock marketing rules proposed by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).

A USDA spokesman told Meatingplace Vilsack’s comments on a teleconference with stakeholders were consistent with a letter he sent in October to Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) in response to Peterson’s request for further economic study.

In that letter, a copy of which was made available to Meatingplace, Vilsack said, “Beyond the cost-benefit analysis we have conducted for the proposed rule, we look forward to reviewing the public comments to inform the Department if all factors have been properly considered, if or how changes should be incorporated, and to aid more rigorous cost-benefit and related analyses pursuant to the rulemaking process.”      

Vilsack declined to speculate how long the review process would take, but said the rule as published June 22 was a draft and could be extensively changed before being finalized, the National Chicken Council reported in a news release after Monday’s teleconference.

Industry groups weighed in extensively with their concerns about the proposals during an extended comment period which ended Nov. 22, including criticizing the lack of an adequate economic analysis in the proposed rule.

“A serious and robust analysis of the economic impact of the proposed GIPSA rule is long overdue,” said NCC Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Bill Roenigk.  “The rule will have a profound, far-reaching and costly impact on the poultry and livestock industries, and it should not have been put forth without an appropriate analysis of its impact on farmers and ranchers, industry, and consumers.”

A study commissioned by NCC pegged the cost to the broiler industry alone at more than $1 billion over five years. A study commission by the American Meat Institute pegged the cost at $14 billion in GDP and $1.36 billion in lost tax revenue.
 

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