Will cattle producers be helped or hurt by the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) regulation that is intended to provide protection for producers against unfair, fraudulent or retaliatory practices in the livestock business?

That is the question that many in the cattle business are asking now, less than two months after the rule was proposed. Many of the smaller cow-calf producers that the rule is supposed to benefit are expressing serious reservations about the profound impact it could have on their livelihoods.

Meet Robbie LeValley, a lifelong cow-calf producer who operates a ranch with her husband Mark and two sons in Hotchkiss, Colorado. Her family operation is one of six that together own Homestead Meats, which offers natural beef for sale direct to consumers, retailers and restaurants. The six families also own a USDA inspected packing plant where they market their own animals and provide custom processing. Robbie is also a Colorado State University Area livestock and range extension specialist and was recently elected president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association.

Robbie is worried that the proposed rule could have a negative impact on her family business. “Our innovation and our willingness to do direct marketing has basically now labeled us a packer and under the proposed rule, as I read it, now limits our marketing options – meaning not being able to sell to other packers,” she said. While some say that is not the intent of the rule, she argues that the vagueness of the language makes it very possible.

One concern for Robbie is the long term impact of the proposed rule on the next generation of livestock producers, like her two sons who represent the fourth generation in her family business. “We operate on a very thin margin already, so the potential for additional government intervention or increased litigation just reduces that margin even more,” she says. “Is there enough of a margin to bring in that fourth generation?”

Robbie would like to see an in-depth, cost-benefit analysis done on the proposal before it is rushed into implementation. “Where is the research that shows there is problems in the marketplace and that these proposed rules will do anything to address those problems?” she asks.

Robbie will be on one of the producer panels at next week’s USDA/DOJ public workshop on competition in the livestock industry in Ft. Collins, CO, where she will provide her perspective on the impact of the proposed rule. She strongly encourages other producers to carefully read the GIPSA proposal and take advantage of the public comment period between now and November 22 to make their voices heard.

Listen to or download my complete interview with Robbie here: Robbie LeValley Interview

Here’s a little YouTube video featuring LeValley Ranch: