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Memo: GIPSA program to be part of USDA AMS

A November 14th memo from Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue, obtained by Agri-Pulse, says the GIPSA program will be moved to the Agricultural Marketing Service, AMS. In September, Perdue said he would make that change.  The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) says AMS will “not adequately protect family farmers against abusive corporate practices.” OCM says the AMS is the same office that has, in its words, “grossly mismanaged the commodity checkoff programs.”

Last month, Perdue withdrew the GIPSA “Farmer Fair Practices Rule”. Last week, he told Brownfield Ag News why he left ONE of the three GIPSA rules in place, “This is a real signal to the processors and the producers and the packers that we’re going to be watching. Our motto at USDA is ‘do right and feed everyone’ and we’re going to make watching to make sure people in this industry do right.”

OCM and other ag groups representing independent producers said removing the rules was a mistake and would harm farmers and ranchers and consumers, “And, I know that may not be the legal comfort that people wanted. But, I think – again – that the power of the Secretary and watching this… we can always reinstitute a rule if we think there are abuses taking place.”

Perdue’s memo also says the Codex program in USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) will be moved to the Office of the Undersecretary for Trade and Agricultural Affairs.