Competition in the Livestock Industry

USDA, DOJ announce registration for Aug. 27 Livestock Workshop in Colorado.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced Aug. 2 additional details for the Aug. 27, 2010, public workshop in Fort Collins, Colo., which will examine competition in the livestock industry. The workshop will be at Colorado State University, the main ballroom of the Lory Student Center, 1101 Centre Ave. Mall, Fort Collins.

This is the fourth in a series of five workshops intended to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to competition and regulatory issues in agriculture. The first workshop was in March in Ankeny, Iowa, with a focus on row crops and hogs. The second workshop focused on issues in the poultry industry and was in Normal, Ala. The third workshop focused on issues in the dairy industry and was in Madison, Wis.

The workshops, which were first announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Aug. 5, 2009, are the first joint DOJ/USDA workshops ever to be conducted to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry.

Attendance at the workshops is free and open to the public. The general public and media interested in attending the Colorado workshop should register at www.conferences.colostate.edu/LiveStockWorkshop.

The workshop will begin with opening remarks from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. After opening remarks, Secretary Vilsack and Attorney General Holder will participate in a roundtable discussion with Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Christine Varney. Federal and state officials from Colorado have been invited to participate in the workshop. There will be public testimony from those attending the workshop and panels will feature ranchers, academics, processors and other industry representatives.

Additional details on the schedule and panelists will be provided at a later date. For further information, including submitted public comments and transcripts for past workshops, please visit the Antitrust Division's agriculture workshop website at www.justice.gov/atr/public/workshops/ag2010/index.htm or contact agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov.

The DOJ and USDA will hold the next public workshop on margins in agriculture in Washington in December.

Editor's Note: This article was provided as a news release by the USDA Office of Communications.