FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Ranchers from across the country are expected to gather in northern Colorado next week to talk about competition in the cattle industry.
Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are scheduled to attend the Aug. 27 meeting at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. It’s the fourth in a series of meetings the Obama administration has been holding across the country to discuss anti-trust issues in agriculture.
The meatpacking industry has long been dominated by a handful of corporate giants, and some producers accuse them of demanding unfairly low prices. Proposed anti-trust rules from the administration would make it easier for ranchers to sue them.
A Montana-based ranchers’ group, R-Calf USA, is trying to get 25,000 supporters to attend. CEO Bill Bullard said people from as far away as Washington state and Florida were organizing van pools and caravans to travel to the meeting.
The American Meat Institute, the trade group for meatpacking companies, will also participate.
Mark Dopp, the institute’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs, said forces other than ownership concentration, such as a demand for higher-quality meat, have been driving changes in the industry recently.
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Information from: Fort Collins Coloradoan,
