We’ve been hearing a lot from producers and organizations with concerns about the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule, but there are some groups in favor of the rule.

The most vocal is R-CALF USA, led by CEO Bill Bullard, who calls the proposed rule “critical” to help “an industry in crisis.” Bullard contends that the rule is simply designed to address anti-competitive practices by meat packers and that concerns about unintended consequences being made by groups like the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Pork Producers Council are “scare tactics” initiated by the packers themselves. “The opponents to the rule, primarily the meat packers, are fighting against it as hard as they can and trying to convince producers that they should help the meat packers kill this rule,” Bullard says. He believes that the rule will not result in meat packers abandoning marketing agreements they have made with producers for premium traits. “It is incomprehensible that the packers would forgo what they claim to be a very profitable venture simply because they have to maintain the records to justify it,” said Bullard.

R-CALF is encouraging 25,000 rural Americans to show up at the USDA/DOJ public workshop this Friday in Ft. Collins, CO to show their support for the rule.

Listen to or download Chuck’s interview with Bill here: Bill Bullard Interview

Another group supporting the GIPSA rule is Food & Water Watch, an environmental activist group, which is working with R-CALF on a public forum they are sponsoring the day before the USDA/DOJ public workshop in Ft. Collins. This is the group behind “The Meatrix,” an anti-“factory farming” viral video series produced in 2007 that comes off more than just a little anti-animal agriculture in general. Other groups supporting the rule include the Western Organization of Resource Councils, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and the Missouri Rural Crisis Center.

I had forgotten just how darn funny and clever the “Meatrix” videos were, even if you don’t agree with the agenda. Watch the original here: