Rule Would Harm Small Family Farms
Some days working with my colleagues reminds me of the story of a young man from Washington who decided he wanted to become a farmer. An older neighbor farmer was so excited to have a young man entering agriculture that he gave him 10 chickens to get started.
A few weeks later, the men saw one another and the young man said it wasn't going well. In fact all the chickens had died. The old farmer said, "Well something must be wrong." The young man said, "Yeah, I'm not sure if I am planting them too deep or too far apart."
Representative Scott Tipton and I sent a letter last week to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack asking him to comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA)with regards to the proposed Grain Inspection, Packer and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule on livestock marketing practices. If this rule is adopted, it would harm thousands of small family farms.
Studies have shown that it will reduce the GDP by just over $1.5 billion and cost the U.S. economy nearly 23,000 jobs. At a time of nine percent unemployment, we should be looking for every avenue possible to create jobs. This rule would be extremely damaging to small farms, kill jobs and hamper competition across the country.
Now is not the time for more regulation from Washington. As one of a handful of farmers in Congress, I will continue to fight legislation and regulations that will hurt our farmers and ranchers.
Sincerely,
