Rural voters, many of them farmers, helped get Donald Trump elected last month, and now chicken farmers in particular are hoping that he will get behind Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Adminstration (GIPSA) rules.
The GIPSA rules, which Politico reports are going to be released some time this month, are designed to protect chicken growers in their dealings with processors.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s website, GIPSA’s grain inspection program and its Packers and Stockyards program aim to promote fair business practices and competitive environments to market livestock, meat, poultry and grains.
Chicken farmers hope that Trump will follow through on his campaign promises, and shake up the establishment, as many influential Republicans on Capitol Hill oppose the regulations.
According to Politico, many in the ag world saw Trump’s election as clearing the way for a repeal of the GIPSA rules, but at least one former chicken farmer, Eric Hedrick, who recently had to shut his business down, sees it as an opportunity for the President-elect to live up to his campaign promise of “draining the swamp.”
Hedrick is featured in a documentary by Rural Advancement Foundation International called “Under Contract,” which according to the foundation’s website, tells stories of farmers who claim that the way the U.S. does agribusiness must change in order to protect not only farmers, but also the food supply, from industry abuses.
Meanwhile, in a 60 minutes interview Sunday night, House Speaker Paul Ryan said agriculture is over-regulated and that he plans to change that in the next session of Congress. He also addressed immigration reform.
As reported by Politico, Ryan said over-regulation has had a detrimental impact on jobs, citing the farming and ranching sector as an example, and that he wants to replace environmental and safety regulations with those that help grow jobs in those and other sectors, like coal mining. That, he said is his number two priority, right behind repealing and replacing Obamacare.
In response to an inquiry about immigration reform, Ryan told 60 Minutes that the focus is on deportation of undocumented immigrants who are criminals and enforcement of immigration laws already in place.
For the full 60 Minute interview, visit cbsnews.com.
