Meat Packers Pull Full Court Press for Ownership Amendment

February 12, 2002

As Senate debate on a new farm bill lurched into the final hours, the American Meat Institute urged members to contact their senators to vote in favor of retracting a controversial amendment that bans packer ownership of livestock under certain conditions. A vote on the amendment could come today with final passage of the bill later today or Wednesday.

Once finalized, the Senate bill and the House-passed farm bill must undergo negotiation within a conference committee that will be responsible for a final version tht will be voted by both chambers, then sent to President Bush for his signature.

In January, AMI campaigned to strip the packer ownership ban from the farm bill. Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) is expected to offer an amendment to strip the language and replace it with a nine-month USDA economic impact study. "We are convinced that once the sweeping and devastating impacts of the Johnson Amendment are made clear, most level-headed senators would agree that a study is a far more prudent approach," said AMI President J. Patrick Boyle.

Papers released by several economists in recent months conclude that banning packer ownership and control of livestock would have a negative effect on livestock producers, meat packers and consumers, according to AMI.