WASHINGTON — On Dec. 13, more than 60 agriculture organizations penned a letter to President Joe Biden voicing concern about the finalization of rules proposed by the US Department of Agriculture to update the Packers and Stockyards Act.

One key focus in the letter was how contract poultry growers compete and understand agreement terms with major processing companies.

“We are concerned that the pace of USDA’s progress on its P&S Act rulemakings could put them in jeopardy,” the organizations said in the letter. “We support USDA’s recently finalized P&S Act rule to increase clarity and transparency in poultry growing contracts and the pending rule to provide stronger protections for market vulnerable individuals, but the most essential aspects of the work to strengthen the P&S Act remain in limbo.”

Some organizations that signed the letter include the American Grassfed Association, Land Stewardship Project, National Farmers Union, R-CALF-USA and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

The organizations also noted that the 2024 Farm Bill in the House of Representatives would prevent the USDA from making any additional progress on the rules.

“Without adequate antitrust enforcement, USDA risks wasting many of these important investments they have made in local, regional, and value-added markets as producers struggle to find market access in our hyper-consolidated agricultural industries,” the letter stated. “To ensure our nation’s farmers and ranchers can thrive, USDA must restore the P&S Act by swiftly finalizing a strong set of rules.”

Following its initial announcement in November to provide transparency with processors and poultry producers, the USDA published more information in the Federal Register on Nov. 28.

The National Chicken Council (NCC) previously stated that a final rule under the Packers and Stockyards Act would have a devastating financial impact on the US chicken industry by raising costs and administrative burdens.