GIPSA Comment Period Ends; What Now?

With the public comment period having ended this week for the proposed GIPSA rules on livestock marketing, what happens now?

Troy Marshall 2, BEEF Contributing Editor

November 23, 2010

1 Min Read
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With the public comment period having ended this week for the proposed GIPSA rules on livestock marketing, what happens now?

While there’s a lot of conjecture on what exactly will happen next, what can happen is several fold, says Colin Woodall, chief of legislative affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

“USDA could move ahead with the regulation as is, if they want to; it has that power,” Woodall says. “But, more than likely, they’ll review the comments and lump them into groups of similar concerns; then we’ll see some sort of final rule or interim final rule sometime next month. Right now, there’s no indication that they’ll make any changes to the rule, but they do have that option.”

Woodall says that if what evolves is an interim final rule, another comment period will likely follow. “What that means is that they will have probably made some changes and they need to give an opportunity to hear back on the changes. But if it’s a final rule, it will probably implement 60 days after it’s issued,” he says.

“After that, there are some ways to stop it but it would take legal or legislative action or a combination of both; we’re looking at all the actions right now. I think legislatively it would be extremely hard; legal-wise, it just costs a whole lot of money.”

Woodall says more than 18,000 comments had been submitted as of last week. “The unfortunate thing is that the majority of those comments are not from producers,” he says, with the majority of them being in favor of the rule.
-- Joe Roybal

About the Author

Troy Marshall 2

BEEF Contributing Editor

Troy Marshall is a multi-generational rancher who grew up in Wheatland, WY, and obtained an Equine Science/Animal Science degree from Colorado State University where he competed on both the livestock and World Champion Horse Judging teams. Following college, he worked as a market analyst for Cattle-Fax covering different regions of the country. Troy also worked as director of commercial marketing for two breed associations; these positions were some of the first to provide direct links tying breed associations to the commercial cow-calf industry.

A visionary with a great grasp for all segments of the industry, Troy is a regular opinion contributor to BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly. His columns are widely reprinted and provide in-depth reporting and commentary from the perspective of a producer who truly understands the economics and challenges of the different industry segments. He is also a partner/owner in Allied Genetic Resources, a company created to change the definition of customer service provided by the seedstock industry. Troy and his wife Lorna have three children. 

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