Statewide Iowa — The Biden Administration is providing another 800 million dollars to support smaller scale beef, pork and poultry plants and is establishing a new tipline for whistleblowers from the meatpacking industry.
President Biden says the four largest meat packing companies are distorting prices for farmers and for consumers.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the goal with this new batch of federal grants and loans is to invest in at least 15 small packing plants and to take steps to recruit and train new workers for the industry.
The ag department and the U.S. Justice Department are creating a new portal to handle reports of anticompetitive behavior in the meatpacking industry. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the agencies are committed to vigorous enforcement of anti-trust laws.
Iowa Farm Bureau president Brent Johnson participated in Monday’s White House forum. Johnson urged Biden to work with Iowa’s congressional delegation on a price transparency bill to ensure farmers are paid an honest price for their cattle, hogs and poultry. Several of the Iowans who serve in the U.S. Senate and House said via Twitter that they were pleased to see the bipartisan bill was highlighted during Monday’s summit.
