At the DFTA Annual Meeting in December 2009, DFTA members took a position on farmer contracts. In 2003, 40% of all US agricultural products were produced with either a marketing and/or production contract. This trend is rapidly spreading from poultry to hogs to tobacco to specialty crops and grains. Unfortunately, these agricultural contracts are developed in an environment in which the corporate processors, handlers, packers or buyers have monopoly-like market power and farmers have almost no legal protection. The result is a growing imbalance in market power between the family farmer and agribusiness corporations, which is depressing farm income and threatening the economic viability and environmental health of our rural communities.
The DFTA position supports legislation based on the model Producer Protection Act provided by 16 state Attorneys General as a basic minimum for standards of fairness in agricultural contracts. This DFTA position also calls for good faith collective bargaining, minimum contract security, upgrade compensation, and livestock mortality disposal standards.
