Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy
Workshop Information
The U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will hold a series of joint public workshops to explore competition issues affecting the agricultural sector in the 21st century and the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in that industry. The first workshop will be held in early 2010.
This page provides information on:
- Overview of the Workshops
- Dates, Locations, Topics, Agendas, Transcripts and Videos
- Registration
- Press Releases
- Prepared Remarks
- Federal Register Notice
- Public Comments
- Submitting Comments
For more information, contact Mark B. Tobey, Special Counsel for State Relations and Agriculture (agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov or 202-532-4763).
Updated: 08/27/2010
These are the first joint Department of Justice/USDA workshops ever to be held to discuss competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry. The goals of the workshops are to promote dialogue among interested parties and foster learning with respect to the appropriate legal and economic analyses of these issues as well as to listen to and learn from parties with real-world experience in the agricultural sector.
The workshops will address the dynamics of competition in agriculture markets, including buyer power (monopsony) and vertical integration. They will examine legal doctrines and jurisprudence, as well as current economic learning, and will provide an opportunity for farmers, ranchers, consumer groups, processors, agribusiness, and other interested parties to provide examples of potentially anticompetitive conduct and to discuss any concerns about the application of the antitrust laws to the agricultural sectors. The workshops will be transcribed and placed on the public record along with submissions and written comments received.
March 12, 2010 - Ankeny, Iowa
Issues of Concern to Farmers
Introduction to the workshops series with a focus on the issues facing
crop farmers. Discussion topics included seed technology, vertical
integration, market transparency and buyer power.
- Agenda for the Iowa Workshop
- Transcript of the Iowa Workshop (PDF, Text)
- Video of the Iowa Workshop (Requires Flash)
May 21, 2010 - Normal, Alabama
Poultry Industry
Specific areas of focus included production contracts in the poultry industry,
concentration and buyer power.
- Agenda for the Alabama Workshop
- Transcript of the Alabama Workshop (PDF, Text)
- Video of the Alabama Workshop (Requires Flash)
June 25, 2010 - Madison, Wisconsin
Dairy Industry
Specific areas of focus included concentration, marketplace transparency
and market dynamics in the dairy industry.
- Agenda for the Wisconsin Workshop
- Transcript of the Wisconsin Workshop (PDF, Text)
- Video of the Wisconsin Workshop (Requires Flash)
August 27, 2010 - Fort Collins, Colorado
Livestock Industry
This workshop will address beef, hog and other animal sectors. Likely issues for discussion are concentration in livestock markets, buyer power and enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
December 8, 2010 - Washington, D.C.
Margins
This workshop will look at the discrepancies between the prices received
by farmers and the prices paid by consumers. As a concluding event, discussions
from previous workshops will be incorporated into the analysis of agriculture
markets nationally.
Physical addresses of workshops.
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Hold Workshop Focused on Competition Issues in the Livestock Industry - Fort Collins, Colo., Workshop is the Fourth of Five on Competition Issues in Agriculture (08/27/2010)
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Announce Agenda for August 27 Livestock Workshop in Colorado - Workshop to be Held at Colorado State University (08/20/2010)
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Announce Registration for August 27 Livestock Workshop in Colorado – Workshop to be Held at Colorado State University in Fort Collins (08/02/2010)
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Hold Workshop Focused on Competition Issues in the Dairy Industry – Madison, Wis., Workshop is the Third of Five on Competition Issues in Agriculture (06/25/2010)
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Announce Agenda for June 25 Dairy Workshop - Workshop to be Held at University of Wisconsin - Madison (06/21/2010)
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Announce Dairy Workshop on June 25 in Wisconsin - Workshop to be Held at University of Wisconsin - Madison (06/04/2010)
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Announce Schedule and Panelists for Agriculture Workshop in Alabama - Poultry Workshop to be Held at the Ernest L. Knight Reception Center at Alabama A & M University (05/14/2010)
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Announce Poultry Workshop on May 21 in Alabama - Workshop to be Held at Alabama A&M University in Normal (04/26/2010)
- Press Release: Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney to Participate in Meeting with Dairy Farmers and Consumers in New York (03/26/2010)
- Press Release: DOJ and USDA Hold First-Ever Workshop on Competition Issues in Agriculture - First of Five Workshops Features Discussion on Competitive Dynamics in the Seed Industry, Trends in Contracting, Transparency and Buyer Power (03/12/2010)
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Announce Updated Schedule for Agriculture Workshop on March 12 in Iowa - Initial Workshop to be Held in Ankeny, Iowa, at FFA Enrichment Center at Des Moines Area Community College (03/10/2010)
- Press Release: Department of Justice and USDA Workshops to Explore Competition and Regulatory Issues in the Agriculture Industry to Begin March 12 in Iowa - Initial Workshop to be Held in Ankeny, Iowa, at Des Moines Area Community College, FFA Enrichment Center (02/23/2010)
- Press Release: Justice Department and USDA Set Dates for Workshops to Explore Competition and Regulatory Issues in The Agriculture Industry - Workshops to be Held in Alabama, Colorado, Iowa, Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin (11/13/2009)
- Press Release: Justice Department and USDA to Hold Public Workshops to Explore Competition Issues in the Agriculture Industry - Workshops Will Promote Open Dialogue on Legal and Economic Issues in the Agriculture Industry (08/05/2009)
- Prepared Remarks: Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Colorado Agriculture Workshop (08/27/2010)
- Prepared Remarks: Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Assistant Attorney General Christine Varney at the Wisconsin Dairy Workshop (06/25/2010)
- Prepared Remarks: Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Alabama Agriculture Workshop (05/21/2010)
- Prepared Remarks: A Shared Vision for American Agricultural Markets - Remarks as Prepared by Assistant Attorney General Christine A. Varney for the Opening of the Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture Joint Workshops (03/12/2010)
- Prepared Remarks: Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the Department of Justice and USDA Agriculture Workshop - Ankeny, Iowa (03/12/2010)
- Prepared Remarks: Crisis on the Farm: The State of Cooperation and Prospects for Sustainability in the Northeast - Statement of Assistant Attorney General Christine A. Varney Before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Field Hearing in St. Albans, Vermont (09/19/2009)
- Prepared Remarks: Toward a Competition Policy Agenda for Agriculture Markets - Prepared Remarks of Deputy Assistant Attorney General Philip J. Weiser for the Organization of Competitive Markets, 11th Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri (08/17/2009)
Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy [74 FR 43725 (08/27/2009)]
(HTML, PDF)
The Antitrust Division and the Department of Agriculture issued a call for public comments when they announced their plan to hold a number of workshops on competition issues in agriculture. Over 15,000 comments from farmers, consumers, academics, elected officials, and industry organizations were submitted.
- All Comments
- Master Index of All Comments (Listed by AGW Number)
- Alphabetical List of Individuals or Entities Who Submitted Comments
- Initial Comments
The deadline for submitting public comments was December 31, 2009.
The Department of Justice and the Department of Agriculture continue to welcome comments from the public throughout these workshops. Comments received after the deadline may not be posted online, but will be considered by DOJ and USDA as part of the ongoing dialogue. Any interested person may submit written comments responsive to any of the topics addressed in the Federal Register Notice and the workshops.
Written comments submitted after the deadline should be e-mailed to agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov and include “Comment” in the subject line. Electronic submissions must include the original source file (Word, WordPerfect, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.). Submissions in PDF only format will not be accepted.
Note: The size of an e-mail to the Antitrust Division, including all attachments, cannot exceed 10 MB. Accordingly, electronic documents that are voluminous should be submitted to the Antitrust Division using appropriate media (such as CD) to:
Legal Policy Section
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
450 5th Street, NW, Suite 11700
Washington, DC 20001
Privacy and confidentiality: Written submissions and the identity of the submitter may be disclosed, reproduced, and distributed by publication and/or posting on the Department of Justice Web site, at the discretion of the Department of Justice. Information that is submitted in connection with this workshop cannot be maintained as confidential by the Department of Justice. Written submissions should not include any information that the submitting person seeks to preserve as confidential.
Contact for submissions: For more information on making submissions, contact the Antitrust Division by e-mail at agriculturalworkshops@usdoj.gov.
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