Rural Montana is Hurting
Posted Jun 14, 2010
My name is Dennis McDonald and I’m a candidate for Montana’s lone seat in the U.S. Congress. Over the last several months I have traveled to all 56 counties in the state speaking with folks and listening to their concerns. I have to say that I have never before seen the level of angst in the eyes of Montanans that I am witnessing during this campaign.
Our farmers put a wheat crop in the bin last fall at a cost that exceeded its current value. Ranchers marketed a calf crop last fall at prices that were below the cost of production. Small businesses across Montana have shut their doors and community schools are closing. Meanwhile, Wall Street is seeing record profits and passing out huge bonuses, all while fighting to stall critical reforms intended to prevent the next collapse.
The problems facing our farmers and ranchers stem largely from the same flawed top-down policies that caused the 2008 meltdown in the national economy. Trickledown economics does not work for working people. Wall Street may be doing fine; Main Street is not. Global Agri-business may be thriving, but its success isn’t reaching down to our local farmers and ranchers.
U.S. trade policy has provided profitable opportunities for global corporations, but has been of little help to grassroots producers. Trade policy could benefit those producers, but that has never been the focus of the U.S. Trade Representative. As a member of the President’s International Trade Advisory Committee under President Clinton and President Bush, I wanted the test of any trade agreement to be: “Does it work for grassroots producers?” The policies favored by Washington, however, were aimed at opportunities for Agri-giants. The benefits, they said, would trickle down to the rest of us. I’m still waiting.
In the cattle market, concentration within the packing industry continues to damage producers. The lack of an open and truly competitive market, and market manipulation through the use of captive supplies, is troubling. A system in which just four large beef-packing companies control 85% of the industry is simply untenable. This concentration saps the market of healthy competition. Further, the ability to draw on their own cattle supplies at strategic times allows packers to use enormous leverage to hold down live cattle prices. Today, only 19% of finished cattle are purchased on the open market. The result is the grassroots producer’s share of the retail dollar has shrunk to just 46 cents. This is not sustainable.
I have some ideas for addressing this situation and recently I’ve been talking with our current administration about solutions. First and foremost the country must get away from the trickledown policies that are undermining our way of life. I say: Invest in ordinary people and you’ll realize extraordinary returns. Historically, it was the investments our government made in people, not in corporations, that made ours the world’s strongest nation. The Homestead Act, the G.I. Bill, the Farm Home Administration and our investments in education are examples. Bailouts and too-big-to-fail corporations are the antithesis of what made our country great.
Secondly, let’s strengthen enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Let’s establish market consolidation thresholds that trigger enforcement actions. Let’s prohibit access to captive supplies longer than 14 days before slaughter and force packers to acquire finished cattle in an open, competitive market. Let’s provide transparency to the market by extending and strengthening mandatory livestock price reporting. Let’s create a trade policy that provides opportunities for family producers. Let’s stop the bickering in Washington and get something done.
To accomplish these goals we need new leadership. We need a Congressman who will take a strong work ethic fashioned on the ranch and put that effort to work in Washington for Montana and the nation. We need a Congressman who will take the values of Montana and rural America to the United States Congress. I would be that Congressman.
Back to News