Publications: Livestock

Marketing/Marketing
Orders
Issue Brief: Organization for Competitive
Markets Seeks Judicial Review of USDA’s
GIPSA Rule Withdrawal
Alexandra Lizano, Research Fellow; National Agricultural Law Center
Elizabeth Rumley, Senior Staff Attorney; National Agricultural Law Center

This short informational piece provides essential background, current events, relevant legal issues,
and additional resources regarding a set of rules released and later withdrawn by GIPSA, the USDA
sub-agency responsible for administration of the Packers and Stockyards Act, which governs
livestock and poultry contracts.  Further, it discusses a legal challenge to the withdrawal of the
regulations and provides a current legal status. Download this article. Posted 10/18/18 

Outline of GIPSA’s Proposed Rule

Changes – Workshop Handout
Center Staff National Agricultural Law Center

GIPSA, the federal agency responsible for issuing regulations that govern contracting, buying and
selling of livestock and poultry has proposed new rules on June 22, 2010 that- if finalized- would
drastically change the way that producers, packers, dealers and contractors raise, buy, and sell
livestock and poultry.  In response to requests for information about the proposal, the National
Agricultural Law Center organized and hosted a series of informational workshops, including a
webinar, for livestock and poultry producers.  This article is the handout that was given to attendees
at the workshops, and it discusses the role of GIPSA as an agency, provides an overview of the
proposed rule changes, reviews the UDSA rule-making process, and explains how to submit
comments on the proposed rules.      Download this article. Posted November 8, 2010.

GIPSA’s Proposed Rule Changes: What

Are They? How Might They Affect You?
How Can You Affect Them? – PowerPoint
Presentation
Center Staff National Agricultural Law Center

This presentation was given at a series of producer-focused workshops organized and hosted by the
National Agricultural Law Center on the topic of proposed GIPSA rules that- if finalized- would
drastically change the way that producers, packers, dealers and contractors raise, buy, and sell
livestock and poultry.   These proposed regulations were issued on June 22, 2010, and the comment
period is open until November 22, 2010.  Topics include the role of GIPSA as an agency, the USDA
rule-making process, an overview of the proposed rule changes themselves, and an explanation of
how to submit comments on the proposed rules.       Download this presentation. Posted
November 8, 2010.

GIPSA’s Proposed Rule Changes: A

Presentation for Livestock and Poultry
Producers – Webinar Recording
Center Staff National Agricultural Law Center
GIPSA, the federal agency responsible for issuing regulations that govern contracting, buying and
selling of livestock and poultry has proposed new rules on June 22, 2010 that- if finalized- would
drastically change the way that producers, packers, dealers and contractors raise, buy, and sell
livestock and poultry.  In response to requests for information about the proposal, the National
Agricultural Law Center organized and hosted a series of informational workshops, including this
webinar, for livestock and poultry producers.  The webinar was originally broadcast on October 14,
2010.  It, like the other workshops, discusses the role of GIPSA as an agency, provides an overview of
the proposed rule changes, reviews the UDSA rule-making process, and explains how to submit
comments on the proposed rules.  Before viewing the webinar, please click here to confirm your
ability to connect to the server.  View webinar recording. Posted November 8, 2010.

Farmer’s Legal Guide to Production

Contracts
Neil D. Hamilton Ellis and Nelle Levitt Distinguished Professor of Law Director, Agricultural Law Center,
Drake University Law School

Since its publication in 1995, the Farmer’s Legal Guide to Production Contracts has been a
leading resource for producers, attorneys and others interested in the legal issues involved with
production contracts.  The book addresses typical elements and legal terms used, provides a primer
on contract law and UCC provisions, walks the reader through typical clauses present in contracts,
and discusses issues of contract performance and methods for resolving disputes.  Separate
chapters discuss the special issues inherent in grain, livestock, and vegetable production contracts
and outline state and federal legislation on production contracts.  Please note that the information
presently included is current only to the original date of publication.  Download this
book. Originally published in print form January, 1995; digitized edition posted July 13, 2010

State Regulation of Production Contracts

Alison Peck National Agricultural Law Center Graduate Assistant
Increasingly, agricultural production in the U.S. occurs through production contracts – agreements
through which producers (or “growers”) and contractors (typically agricultural commodity
processors) detail an arrangement for raising agricultural commodities.  These agreements, like
most commercial contracts, are subject to state regulation.  As agricultural production contracts
have become more common, several states have enacted legislation directly regulating production
contracts and the process of creating them.  This article collects and briefly analyzes existing state
laws– from Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin – that directly
regulate production contracts.     Download this article Posted: May 25, 2006

Market Concentration, Horizontal

Consolidation, and Vertical Integration in
the Hog and Cattle Industries: Taking Stock
of the Road Ahead
Harrison M. Pittman Research Assistant Professor of Law National Agricultural Law Center

The level of market concentration in virtually every segment of the agricultural sector in the United
States has increased significantly over the past several decades. The number of firms and actors
within the sector, including producers, input suppliers, output processors, and food retailers, has
decreased as their size has increased.  The hog and cattle industries are two portions of the
agricultural sector that have been the focus of recent litigation due to market concentration
concerns brought about by horizontal consolidation and vertical integration.  The Packers and
Stockyards Act of 1921 (PSA) and anti-corporate farming laws, both of which have been the basis of
recent judicial activity, are two legal mechanisms implicated in the debate over market
concentration in the hog and cattle industries. This article reviews the status of the PSA and
corporate farming laws in light of the decisions in London v. Fieldale Farms, Corp., Pickett v. Tyson
Fresh Meats, Inc., South Dakota Farm Bureau, Inc. v. Hazeltine, and Smithfield Foods, Inc. v. Miller.  The
article also examines the historical development and current structure of the hog and cattle
industries and presents a brief overview of the PSA and corporate farming laws.    Download this
article Posted:  August 14, 2005