ISSUE BRIEF - ADDRESSING CONSOLIDATION IN AGRICULTURE - USDA’S RESPONSE TO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DIRECTIVE TO PROMOTE COMPETITION IN THE AMERICAN ECONOMY

Consequently, the EO detailed a set of requirements for USDA to address the impacts of consolidation and “Vertical integration is fairly common in the turkey decreased competition in the agricultural sector.45 industry, for example, where about 30 percent The full text of the Executive Order as it pertains to of production takes place on farms that perform agriculture is included in the appendix. [...] USDA plans to create three new rules provide the information about the volume of cattle to strengthen enforcement of the Act.113 purchased at each different level of pricing within those formulas, grids, and contracts.106 The market First, USDA intends to propose a new rule that will speculates about the numbers of cattle traded on each provide greater clarity to strengthen enforcement of side of. [...] to amend the FSIS Policy Book to provide are in the proposed rule stage.126 In 2018, two that any beef product labeled as Made in the organizations petitioned USDA to amend its policies USA, Product of the USA, USA Beef or in any on Product of USA labeling on the basis that the other manner that suggests that the origin is the United States, be derived from cattle that existing approach enabled pr. [...] ranking systems — systems in which the poultry companies, contractors, or dealers exercise (i) The Secretary of Agriculture shall: extraordinary control over numerous inputs (i) to address the unfair treatment of farmers that determine the amount farmers are paid and improve conditions of competition in and require farmers to assume the risk of the markets for their products, consider factors outs. [...] 2321 et seq.), in consultation with the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, submit a report to the Chair of the White House Competition Council, enumerating and describing any relevant concerns of the Department of Agriculture and strategies for addressing those concerns across intellectual property, antitrust, and ot.