By Dean Best 10 Jul 2021 (Last Updated July 10th, 2021 22:10)
Reacting to the “disruption” caused by Covid-19, the Biden administration believes farmers and consumers should “have more choices in the marketplace”.
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The US government is set to invest in the country’s meat-processing capacity and “revitalise” trading rules, arguing Covid-19 has demonstrated the industry needs more competition.
Some US$500m of the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” investment in US infrastructure will be used for new meat and poultry processing facilities.
A further $155m will be used to support existing smaller processors in the US meat industry in areas such as expanding capacity and the cost of inspection fees.
US pledges $500 mln to increase meat processing capacity
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CHICAGO: The US government will invest at least $500 million to expand beef, pork and poultry processing capacity, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Friday, after consumers faced limits on meat purchases during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
The money from a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package approved in March will be awarded to meat processors in grants and loans to make the supply chain more resilient and increase competition in the sector, Vilsack said at a news conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order that pushes the US Department of Agriculture to crack down on “abusive practices of some meat processors” and promote more competition in the US economy.
President Biden, USDA order probe of agricultural consolidation amestrib.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from amestrib.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Des Moines Register
President Joe Biden on Friday directed his administration to investigate agricultural consolidation, saying it s resulted in farmers paying too much for seed, tractors and fertilizer and in consumers paying too much in grocery stores.
Concentrated ownership in agricultural markets means farmers’ and ranchers’ share of each dollar spent on food has been declining for decades, while at the same time consumers are paying more, and the big conglomerates in the middle are taking the difference, the White House said in a fact sheet about a new executive order Friday. Big ag is putting a squeeze on farmers. Small and family farms, first-time farmers like veterans coming home and Black and Latino and Indigenous farmers they re seeing price hikes for seed, lopsided contracts, shrinking profits, and growing debt, Biden, a Democrat, said as he signed the order.
7/9/2021
By Tom Polansek
CHICAGO, July 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. government will invest
at least $500 million to expand beef, pork and poultry
processing capacity, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on
Friday, after consumers faced limits on meat purchases during
the COVID-19 pandemic last year.
The money from a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package
approved in March will be awarded to meat processors in grants
and loans to make the supply chain more resilient and increase
competition in the sector, Vilsack said at a news conference in
Council Bluffs, Iowa.
President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order that
pushes the U.S. Department of Agriculture to crack down on