“The tremendous progress of America’s meat and poultry industry is in jeopardy due to a proposed rule from USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA),” notes American Meat Institute (AMI) President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle, in a letter to the editor in today’s Des Moines Register.

In his comments, Boyle explains that the proposed rule would hurt the use of marketing agreements by livestock producers and processors because of a threat of legal jeopardy. “These agreements were initiated by producers and have been mutually beneficial to producers and processors. In addition, these agreements benefit consumers who enjoy a consistent, quality product because processors are better able to procure the types of livestock that yield those products,” he notes.

Boyle observes it is troubling that the GIPSA proposal lacks a comprehensive economic-impact analysis, an issue criticized in writing by nearly 115 members of Congress.

“An economic-impact study found that the rule would cost Iowa more than 3,700 jobs and cost the state $630 million in economic activity,” he explains, adding that nationwide the United States would lose 104,000 jobs and about $14 billion in total revenue.

“That is why AMI and the country’s largest livestock producer groups have called for the proposed rule to be withdrawn,” Boyle states.