Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) believes unfair practices are resulting from agricultural consolidation and are taking place "in large measure because we have not created the tools within government to assure that this new industrialization in agriculture can be addressed through sound public policy."

In an interview with the American Farm Bureau Federation, Daschle said what is happening through consolidation in agriculture "will have irreparable effects on virtually every entity within rural America."

The effects of concentration are felt when farmers and ranchers do not have the ability to trade "fairly" on the markets, whether for grain or livestock. But entire communities also suffer when a plant pulls out, leaving a large percentage of the community unemployed, "as has happened in South Dakota."

However, there is not a policy infrastructure in place to deal effectively with "industrialized agriculture as it exists today," says Daschle. He and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) have introduced legislation that would give USDA more oversight on mergers in hopes of protecting farmers’ interests.