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NFU says big four packers biggest hurdle

The president of the National Farmers Union says the biggest hurdles to positive changes in the cattle industry are the biggest players.

Rob Larew told reporters ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on competition, “There is a complete domination there and they’ve been using that strength for a long time in a very sophisticated way.”

But, Larew says the bipartisan understanding that laws and regulations need to change to help independent producers gives him hope,

“This is one where we have hope that folks understand that these markets and these economies that they represent are, quite frankly, un-American and at best anti-competitive.”

In his testimony, Larew said rules in the meat and poultry sector must be implemented that reinvigorate the Packers and Stockyards Act with clear restrictions on packers and needed protections for farmers under contract.