A Lesson in Organizational Communication

 
By Kevin Rogers, Arizona Farm Bureau President
We have had a lot of ink about the proposed GIPSA (Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration), so it won’t hurt to spill a little more, and I don’t expect this to be the last word in any way.
 
There is disagreement between American Farm Bureau (AFBF) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Cattle Growers. This has generated some correspondence between our state associations each supporting their national perspective. The problem is  I am not certain we disagree, as the focus was on respective efforts – perhaps we were saying similar things, just in different ways. One organization thinking the other was moving forward with the process when in actuality, it was not. And this led to charge and counter charge as to whom was not collaborating as they should.
 
Farm Bureau is supportive of NCBA’s concerns with the proposed regulations:
 
  • Competitive injury provisions
  • Continuation of marketing contracts
  • Opposing a provision to only allow dealer buyers to work for one packer
  • Supporting differential pricing
 
AFBF wants to have a credible economic analysis and USDA response to 60,000 comments to determine benefits and harm of the rule, because the consolidation in the livestock industry does pose challenges. AFBF has both pork and poultry producers complaining about some of the inequities found in contracts to grow for large processors. The proposed GIPSA rule addressed these concerns. In supporting the rule making process, AFBF’s intent was never to harm or impede the ability of a producer to market their product and obtain a price differential from other producers.
 
I don’t know if we are back to the drawing board on GIPSA or not, but there are some lessons:  (1) organizations, and yes, agricultural organizations will disagree, but we should not be disagreeable – I know we all get grouchy from time to time, but there are reasons for separate organizations – so that all agendas have a voice; (2) let’s make certain we understand each others’ positions before we disagree.