A bipartisan group of 13 senators is urging the Senate to reject the House agriculture appropriations provision what would stop various livestock marketing rules from being completed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA). The senators said in a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee leaders, “The rider is anti-farmer; if passed into law it will reduce farmer rights, thwart the will of Congress, and prevent GIPSA from completing its task of writing common sense rules of the road for the contract livestock and poultry production industry.”

The 2008 farm bill directed GIPSA to develop rules to address fraudulent, retaliatory and anti-competitive practices in the livestock and poultry industries. Those signing the letter included Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).