When Congress returns on September 9th, they are expected to jump start negotiations over the 2013 farm bill. Since 2008, you and all our allies have fought hard to protect family farmers from the worst abuses of the meatpackers and poultry companies, but language included in the House farm bill could undue all the work we have done these past years to ensure fairness in livestock contracts and markets. An amendment to the House farm bill would effectively handcuff USDA, preventing the department from keeping the cops on the beat to fight coercive, unfair and abusive practices by the meatpackers and poultry companies.
WE MUST GET THIS PROVISION OUT OF THE FARM BILL IN CONFERENCE.
Below is a letter that was sent to the agriculture committee chairs and signed by nearly 70 of our allies, but we want to send a STRONG SIGNAL to the conferees in September when Congress returns.
PLEASE SIGN ON NOW TO STAND UP FOR FAMILY FARMERS.
Please email by September 5th.
Together we can keep this retrograde language out of the farm bill.