51 Ag Groups File PSA Abuse Brief With U.S. Supreme Court

This weekend, while most Americans were counting their blessings and watching football, 51 farm groups filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court. They're asking the court to consider a lower court case involving deceptive practices by a large food processor. The particular case was Terry v. Tyson Foods, which involved an effort by a contract poultry producer to receive a fair price for his broilers and organize farmers to battle deceptive conduct by Tyson Foods. "The Terry case is critical to fulfilling Congressional intent that the Packers and Stockyards Act protects farmers from abusive practices by dominant processors," says Bill Bullard, president of R-CALF. The PSA is a 1921 statute enacted to protect farmers from deceptive and abusive practices by processors. Some courts have mistakenly concluded that in order to prevail under the PSA a farmer must demonstrate an antitrust violation. That wasn't the intent of its authors, argues the group. "The PSA was enacted as the antitrust laws had failed to protect farmers and Congress recognized the need for a separate statute to protect farmers," explains Attorney David Balto. Groups leading the effort include National Farmers Union, R-CALF, National Family Farm Coalition, Western Organization of Resource Councils, Rural Advancement Foundation International, and the Organization for Competitive Markets...more