KXLO: Tester to Farm Bill committee: Don’t undermine Montana ranchers and producers

Senator Jon Tester is leading a bipartisan effort to protect Montana’s livestock and poultry producers from the unfair business practices of some of the nation’s biggest packing corporations.

Tester wants Senate leaders working on a compromise-version of the Farm Bill to reject a provision backed by the House of Representatives that would block USDA from enforcing laws designed to stop unfair, anti-competitive business practices, such as last-minute contract cancellations and price-fixing.

Tester, along with Republican Senator and fellow farmer Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), want to make sure that USDA can continue to enforce provisions from the 2008 Farm Bill that protect small agricultural producers.