I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2135 

To enhance fair and open competition in the production and sale of 

agricultural commodities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 3, 2007 

Mr. BOSWELL (for himself, Mrs. CUBIN, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, 

and Mr. LOEBSACK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To enhance fair and open competition in the production 

and sale of agricultural commodities. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Competitive and Fair Agricultural Markets Act of 

6 2007’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—AGRICULTURAL FAIR PRACTICES 


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Sec. 101. Agricultural fair practices. 

Sec. 102. Application. 

TITLE II—PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS 

Sec. 201. Investigation of live poultry dealers. 

Sec. 202. No competitive injury requirement. 

Sec. 203. Attorneys’ fees. 

Sec. 204. Appointment of outside counsel. 

Sec. 205. Regulations. 

1 TITLE I—AGRICULTURAL FAIR 

2 PRACTICES 

3 SEC. 101. AGRICULTURAL FAIR PRACTICES. 

4 The Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967 (7 

5 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—This Act may be cited as the 

8 ‘Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967’. 

9 ‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents 

10 of this Act is as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

‘‘Sec. 2. Definitions. 

‘‘TITLE I—AGRICULTURAL TRADE PRACTICES 

‘‘Sec. 101. Office of Special Counsel for Competition Matters. 

‘‘TITLE II—PROHIBITIONS ON ANY UNFAIR, UNJUSTLY DISCRIMINATORY, OR DECEPTIVE ACT, DEVICE, OR ANTI-COMPETITIVE 

PRACTICE IN AGRICULTURAL COMMERCE 

‘‘Sec. 201. Prohibitions involving crops. 

‘‘Sec. 202. Prohibitions involving producer associations and production contracts. 

‘‘Sec. 203. Production contracts and marketing contracts. 

‘‘Sec. 204. Production contracts. 

‘‘Sec. 205. Authority of Secretary to promulgate rules and regulations. 

‘‘Sec. 206. Enforcement. 

‘‘Sec. 207. Effect on other laws. 

‘‘Sec. 208. Assignment of association dues and fees. 

‘‘Sec. 209. Severability. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 ‘‘In this Act: 

3 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), the term ‘agricultural com6 modity’ has the meaning given the term in sec7 tion 102 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 

8 (7 U.S.C. 5602). 

9 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—In section 201, the 

10 term ‘agricultural commodity’— 

11 ‘‘(i) means a crop; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) does not include a perishable ag13 ricultural commodity, as that term is de14 fined in section 1(b) of the Perishable Ag15 ricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 

16 U.S.C. 499a(b)). 

17 ‘‘(2) AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE.—The term 

18 ‘agricultural cooperative’ means an association of 

19 persons engaged in the production, marketing, or 

20 processing of an agricultural commodity that meets 

21 the requirements of the Act entitled ‘An Act to au22 thorize association of producers of agricultural prod23 ucts’ (commonly known as the ‘Capper-Volstead 

24 Act’) (7 U.S.C. 291 et seq.). 

25 ‘‘(3) ASSOCIATION OF PRODUCERS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘association 

2 of producers’ means an association of producers 

3 of agricultural commodities that engages in the 

4 marketing, bargaining, shipping, or processing 

5 of agricultural commodities or of agricultural 

6 services. 

7 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘association 

8 of producers’ includes— 

9 ‘‘(i) an organization dedicated to pro10 moting the common interest and general 

11 welfare of producers of agricultural com12 modities; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a cooperative association (as de14 fined in section 15(a) of the Agricultural 

15 Marketing Act (12 U.S.C. 1141j(a))); and 

16 ‘‘(iii) an association described in the 

17 first section of the Act entitled ‘An Act to 

18 authorize association of producers of agri19 cultural products’ (commonly known as the 

20 ‘Capper-Volstead Act’) (7 U.S.C. 291). 

21 ‘‘(4) CAPITAL INVESTMENT.—The term ‘capital 

22 investment’ means an investment in— 

23 ‘‘(A) a structure, such as a building or ma24 nure storage structure; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) machinery or equipment associated 

2 with producing an agricultural commodity that 

3 has a useful life of more than 1 year. 

4 ‘‘(5) COMMISSION MERCHANT.—The term ‘com5 mission merchant’ means any person engaged in the 

6 business of receiving in interstate or foreign com7 merce any agricultural commodity for sale on com8 mission. 

9 ‘‘(6) CONTRACT LIVESTOCK FACILITY.—The 

10 term ‘contract livestock facility’ means a facility in 

11 which livestock or a product of live livestock is pro12 duced under a production contract by a contract 

13 producer. 

14 ‘‘(7) CONTRACTOR.—The term ‘contractor’ 

15 means a person that, in accordance with a produc16 tion contract, owns, or will own, an agricultural 

17 commodity that is produced by a contract producer. 

18 ‘‘(8) CONTRACT PRODUCER.—The term ‘con19 tract producer’ means a producer that produces an 

20 agricultural commodity under a production contract. 

21 ‘‘(9) COVERED PERSON.—The term ‘covered 

22 person’ means a dealer, handler, contractor, proc23 essor, or commission merchant. 

24 ‘‘(10) CROP.—The term ‘crop’ means an agri25 cultural commodity produced from a plant. 


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1 ‘‘(11) DEALER.—The term ‘dealer’ means any 

2 person engaged in the business of buying, selling, or 

3 marketing agricultural commodities in interstate or 

4 foreign commerce. 

5 ‘‘(12) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 

6 means the Department of Agriculture. 

7 ‘‘(13) HANDLER.—The term ‘handler’ means 

8 any person engaged in the business or practice of— 

9 ‘‘(A) acquiring agricultural commodities 

10 from producers or associations of producers for 

11 processing or sale; 

12 ‘‘(B) grading, packaging, handling, storing, 

13 or processing agricultural commodities received 

14 from producers or associations of producers; 

15 ‘‘(C) contracting or negotiating contracts 

16 or other arrangements, written or oral, with or 

17 on behalf of producers or associations of pro18 ducers with respect to the production or mar19 keting of any agricultural commodity; or 

20 ‘‘(D) acting as an agent or broker for a 

21 handler in the performance of any function or 

22 act described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C). 

23 ‘‘(14) INVESTMENT REQUIREMENT.—The term 

24 ‘investment requirement’ means a provision in a pro25 duction contract that requires a contract producer to 


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1 make a capital investment associated with producing 

2 an agricultural commodity that, but for the produc3 tion contract, the contract producer would not have 

4 made. 

5 ‘‘(15) LIVESTOCK.—The term ‘livestock’ has 

6 the meaning given the term in section 602 of the 

7 Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1471). 

8 ‘‘(16) MARKETING CONTRACT.—The term ‘mar9 keting contract’ means a written agreement between 

10 a covered person and a producer for the purchase of 

11 an agricultural commodity produced or raised by the 

12 producer. 

13 ‘‘(17) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ includes an 

14 individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability 

15 company, limited partnership, or association. 

16 ‘‘(18) PROCESSOR.—The term ‘processor’ 

17 means— 

18 ‘‘(A) any person (other than an agricul19 tural cooperative) engaged in the business of 

20 handling, preparing, or manufacturing (includ21 ing slaughtering) an agricultural commodity or 

22 the products of an agricultural commodity for 

23 sale or marketing in interstate or foreign com24 merce; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) an agricultural cooperative that han2 dles, prepares, or manufactures (including 

3 slaughtering) agricultural commodities of its 

4 members’ own production. 

5 ‘‘(19) PRODUCE.—The term ‘produce’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) to provide feed or services relating to 

7 the care and feeding of livestock, including 

8 milking dairy cattle and storing raw milk; or 

9 ‘‘(B) to plant, raise, harvest, and store a 

10 crop, including preparing soil for planting and 

11 applying a fertilizer, soil conditioner, or pes12 ticide to a crop. 

13 ‘‘(20) PRODUCER.—The term ‘producer’ means 

14 a person engaged in the production of an agricul15 tural commodity as a farmer, planter, rancher, 

16 dairyman, poultryman, or fruit, vegetable, or nut 

17 grower. 

18 ‘‘(21) PRODUCTION CONTRACT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘production 

20 contract’ means a written agreement that pro21 vides for— 

22 ‘‘(i) the production of an agricultural 

23 commodity by a contract producer; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) the provision of a management 

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1 ricultural commodity by a contract pro2 ducer. 

3 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘production 

4 contract’ includes— 

5 ‘‘(i) a contract between a contractor 

6 and a contract producer for the production 

7 of an agricultural commodity; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) a contract between a contractor 

9 and a contract producer for the provision 

10 of a management service in the production 

11 of an agricultural commodity. 

12 ‘‘(22) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

13 means the Secretary of Agriculture. 

14 ‘‘TITLE I—AGRICULTURAL 

15 TRADE PRACTICES 

16 ‘‘SEC. 101. OFFICE OF SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR COMPETI17 TION MATTERS. 

18 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established within 

20 the Department an office to be known as the ‘Office 

21 of Special Counsel for Competition Matters’. 

22 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) investigate and prosecute violations of 

24 this Act and the Packers and Stockyards Act, 

25 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(B) serve as a liaison between, and act in 

2 consultation with, the Department and the De3 partment of Justice and the Federal Trade 

4 Commission with respect to competition and 

5 trade practices in the food and agricultural sec6 tor; and 

7 ‘‘(C) maintain a staff of attorneys and 

8 other professionals with the appropriate exper9 tise. 

10 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR COMPETITION MAT11 TERS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall be headed 

13 by the Special Counsel for Competition Matters, who 

14 shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 

15 advice and consent of the Senate. 

16 ‘‘(2) PROSECUTORIAL AUTHORITY.—Notwith17 standing title 28, United States Code, the Special 

18 Counsel for Competition Matters shall have the au19 thority to bring any civil or administrative action au20 thorized under this Act or the Packers and Stock21 yards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.). 


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1 ‘‘TITLE II—PROHIBITIONS ON 

2 ANY UNFAIR, UNJUSTLY DIS3 CRIMINATORY, OR DECEP4 TIVE ACT, DEVICE, OR ANTI5 COMPETITIVE PRACTICE IN 

6 AGRICULTURAL COMMERCE 

7 ‘‘SEC. 201. PROHIBITIONS INVOLVING CROPS. 

8 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION ON ANY UNFAIR, UNJUSTLY DIS9 CRIMINATORY, OR DECEPTIVE ACT, DEVICE, OR ANTI10 COMPETITIVE PRACTICE.—Any unfair, unjustly discrimi11 natory, or deceptive act, device, or anti-competitive prac12 tice in or affecting the marketing, receiving, purchasing, 

13 sale, or contracting for the production of any agricultural 

14 commodity by any covered person shall be unlawful. 

15 ‘‘(b) OTHER UNLAWFUL ACTS.—It shall be unlawful 

16 for any covered person— 

17 ‘‘(1) to make or give any undue or unreasonable 

18 preference or advantage to any particular person or 

19 locality in any respect, or subject any particular per20 son or locality to any undue or unreasonable preju21 dice or disadvantage in any respect; 

22 ‘‘(2) to sell or otherwise transfer to or for any 

23 other person, or buy or otherwise receive from or for 

24 any other person, any article for the purpose or with 

25 the effect of manipulating or controlling prices, or of 


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1 creating a monopoly in the acquisition of, buying, 

2 selling, or dealing in, any article, or of restraining 

3 commerce; 

4 ‘‘(3) to engage in any course of business or do 

5 any act for the purpose or with the effect or manip6 ulating or controlling prices, or of creating a monop7 oly in the acquisition of, buying, selling, or dealing 

8 in, any article, or of restraining commerce; 

9 ‘‘(4) to conspire, combine, agree, or arrange 

10 with any other person— 

11 ‘‘(A) to apportion territory for carrying on 

12 business; 

13 ‘‘(B) to apportion purchases or sales of 

14 any article; or 

15 ‘‘(C) to manipulate or control prices; or 

16 ‘‘(5) to conspire, combine, agree, or arrange 

17 with any other person to do, or aid or abet the doing 

18 of, any act made unlawful by paragraph (1), (2), 

19 (3), or (4). 

20 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.—In deter21 mining whether an act, device, or anti-competitive practice 

22 described in subsection (a) is unfair, a court may consider 

23 whether— 

24 ‘‘(1) a reasonable person would consider the 

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1 cumstances, whether or not the act, device, or prac2 tice has previously been found unlawful; or 

3 ‘‘(2) the act, device, or practice may violate 

4 standards established by Federal or State law (in5 cluding common law and regulations). 

6 ‘‘SEC. 202. PROHIBITIONS INVOLVING PRODUCER ASSOCIA7 TIONS AND PRODUCTION CONTRACTS. 

8 ‘‘(a) ANY UNLAWFUL ACT INVOLVING PRODUCER

9 ASSOCIATIONS AND PRODUCTION CONTRACTS.—It shall 

10 be unlawful for any covered person— 

11 ‘‘(1) to interfere with, restrain, or coerce any 

12 producer in the exercise of the right of the producer 

13 to join and belong to, or to refrain from joining or 

14 belonging to, an association of producers; 

15 ‘‘(2) to refuse to deal with any producer be16 cause of the exercise of the right of the producer to 

17 join and belong to the association; 

18 ‘‘(3) to discriminate against any producer with 

19 respect to price, quantity, quality, or other terms of 

20 purchase, acquisition, or other handling of an agri21 cultural commodity because of the membership of 

22 the producer in, or the contract of the producer 

23 with, an association of producers; 

24 ‘‘(4) to coerce or intimidate any producer to 

25 enter into, maintain, breach, cancel, or terminate a 


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1 membership agreement or marketing contract with 

2 an association of producers or a contract with a cov3 ered person; 

4 ‘‘(5) to pay or loan money, give any thing of 

5 value, or offer any other inducement or reward to a 

6 producer for refusing to or ceasing to belong to an 

7 association of producers; 

8 ‘‘(6) to make false reports about the finances, 

9 management, or activities of an association of pro10 ducers or covered persons; 

11 ‘‘(7) to conspire, combine, agree, or arrange 

12 with any other person to do, or aid or abet the per13 formance of, any act made unlawful by this Act; 

14 ‘‘(8) to interfere with the formation or adminis15 tration of any association of producers; 

16 ‘‘(9) to contribute financial or other support to 

17 an association of producers; or 

18 ‘‘(10) to fail to bargain in good faith with an 

19 association of producers. 

20 ‘‘(b) ANY UNLAWFUL ACT IN PRODUCTION CON21 TRACTS.—It shall be unlawful for a covered person that 

22 is a party to a production contract— 

23 ‘‘(1) to fail to act in good faith with respect to 

24 the performance and enforcement of the production 

25 contract; 


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1 ‘‘(2) to fail to include 1 or more cover pages 

2 that disclose provisions of the production contract 

3 relating to— 

4 ‘‘(A) duration; 

5 ‘‘(B) termination; 

6 ‘‘(C) renewal and renegotiation standards; 

7 ‘‘(D) responsibility for environmental dam8 age; 

9 ‘‘(E) factors to be used in determining 

10 payment; 

11 ‘‘(F) responsibility for obtaining and com12 plying with Federal, State, and local permits; 

13 ‘‘(G) assignability; 

14 ‘‘(H) the applicable State law and venue; 

15 ‘‘(I) the effect of oral modifications; 

16 ‘‘(J) remedies for breach; 

17 ‘‘(K) in the case of a livestock or poultry 

18 production contract, the minimum number of 

19 animals subject to the contract; 

20 ‘‘(L) other rules or provisions incorporated 

21 in the contract by reference; and 

22 ‘‘(M) any other terms that the Secretary 

23 determines to be appropriate for disclosure; or 

24 ‘‘(3) to violate any of the requirements relating 

25 to production contracts under section 204. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.—In deter2 mining whether an act, device, or anti-competitive practice 

3 described in section 201(a), with respect to the production 

4 of an agricultural commodity, is unfair, a court may con5 sider whether— 

6 ‘‘(1) a reasonable person would consider the 

7 act, device, or practice unfair under the cir8 cumstances, whether or not the act, device, or prac9 tice has previously been found unlawful; or 

10 ‘‘(2) the act, device, or practice may violate 

11 standards established by Federal or State law (in12 cluding common law and regulations). 

13 ‘‘SEC. 203. PRODUCTION CONTRACTS AND MARKETING 

14 CONTRACTS. 

15 ‘‘(a) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any provision of a produc16 tion contract or a marketing contract that requires that 

17 the production contract or marketing contract remain con18 fidential is void, except as the provision applies to a trade 

19 secret to which section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 

20 applies. 

21 ‘‘(b) ARBITRATION.—If a livestock or poultry con22 tract or marketing contract provides for the use of arbitra23 tion to resolve a controversy under the livestock or poultry 

24 contract or marketing contract, arbitration may be used 

25 to settle the controversy only if, after the controversy 


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1 arises, both parties consent in writing to use arbitration 

2 to settle the controversy. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 204. PRODUCTION CONTRACTS. 

4 ‘‘(a) RIGHT OF CONTRACT PRODUCERS TO CANCEL

5 PRODUCTION CONTRACTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contract producer may 

7 cancel a production contract by mailing a cancella8 tion notice to the contractor not later than the later 

9 of— 

10 ‘‘(A) the date that is 3 business days after 

11 the date on which the production contract is ex12 ecuted; or 

13 ‘‘(B) any cancellation date specified in the 

14 production contract. 

15 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE.—A production contract shall 

16 clearly disclose— 

17 ‘‘(A) the right of the contract producer to 

18 cancel the production contract; 

19 ‘‘(B) the method by which the contract 

20 producer may cancel the production contract; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(C) the deadline for canceling the produc23 tion contract. 

24 ‘‘(b) PRODUCTION CONTRACTS INVOLVING INVEST25 MENT REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies 

2 only to a production contract between a contract 

3 producer and a contractor if, but for the production 

4 contract, the contract producer would not have made 

5 a capital investment of $100,000 or more. 

6 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS ON CONTRACT TERMI7 NATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) NOTICE OF TERMINATION.—Except 

9 as provided in subparagraph (C), a contractor 

10 shall not terminate or cancel a production con11 tract unless the contractor provides the contract 

12 producer with written notice of the intention of 

13 the contractor to terminate or cancel the pro14 duction contract at least 180 days before the ef15 fective date of the termination or cancellation. 

16 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The written notice 

17 required under subparagraph (A) shall include 

18 alleged causes of the termination. 

19 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—A contractor may ter20 minate or cancel a production contract without 

21 notice as required under subparagraph (A) if 

22 the basis for the termination or cancellation 

23 is— 

24 ‘‘(i) a voluntary abandonment of the 

25 contractual relationship by the contract 


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1 producer, such as a complete failure of the 

2 contract producer to perform under the 

3 production contract; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the conviction of the contract 

5 producer of an offense of fraud or theft 

6 committed against the contractor; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) the natural end of the produc8 tion contract in accordance with the terms 

9 of the production contract. 

10 ‘‘(D) RIGHT TO CURE.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If, not later than 

12 180 days after the date on which the con13 tract producer receives written notice 

14 under subparagraph (A), the contract pro15 ducer remedies each cause of the breach of 

16 contract alleged in the written notice, the 

17 contractor may not terminate or cancel a 

18 production contract under this paragraph. 

19 ‘‘(ii) NO ADMISSION OF BREACH.— 

20 The remedy or attempt to remedy the 

21 causes for the breach of contract by the 

22 contract producer under clause (i) does not 

23 constitute an admission of breach of con24 tract. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL CAPITAL INVESTMENTS IN PRO2 DUCTION CONTRACTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered person shall not 

4 require a contract producer to make additional cap5 ital investments in connection with a production con6 tract that exceed the initial investment requirements 

7 of the production contract. 

8 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding para9 graph (1), a covered person may require additional 

10 capital investments if— 

11 ‘‘(A) the additional capital investments are 

12 offset by reasonable additional consideration, 

13 including compensation or a modification to the 

14 terms of the production contract; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the contract producer agrees in writ16 ing that there is acceptable and satisfactory 

17 consideration for the additional capital invest18 ment. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 205. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO PROMULGATE 

20 RULES AND REGULATIONS. 

21 ‘‘The Secretary, acting through the Special Counsel 

22 for Competition Matters, may promulgate such rules and 

23 regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act and the 

24 Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), 

25 including rules and regulations— 


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1 ‘‘(1) relating to unfair, unjustly discriminatory, 

2 or deceptive acts, devices, or anti-competitive prac3 tices in agriculture; 

4 ‘‘(2) that define with specificity any act, device, 

5 or practice that is to be prohibited as unfair, un6 justly discriminatory, or any deceptive act, device, or 

7 anti-competitive practice in agriculture under section 

8 201 or 202; and 

9 ‘‘(3) to prevent any unfair, unjustly discrimina10 tory, or deceptive act, device, or anti-competitive 

11 practice from occurring in agriculture. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 206. ENFORCEMENT. 

13 ‘‘(a) CIVIL ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY AGAINST

14 COVERED PERSONS.—In any case in which the Secretary 

15 has reasonable cause to believe that any covered person 

16 has engaged in any act or practice that violates this Act, 

17 the Secretary may bring a civil action in the United States 

18 district court of the jurisdiction of residence of the covered 

19 person by filing a complaint requesting preventive relief, 

20 including an application for a permanent or temporary in21 junction, restraining order, or other order, against the cov22 ered person. 

23 ‘‘(b) CIVIL ACTIONS AGAINST COVERED PERSONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PREVENTIVE RELIEF.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which 

2 any covered person has engaged, or there are 

3 reasonable grounds to believe that any covered 

4 person is about to engage, in any act or prac5 tice prohibited by this Act, a civil action for 

6 preventive relief, including an application for a 

7 permanent or temporary injunction, restraining 

8 order, or other order, may be instituted by the 

9 person aggrieved in the United States district 

10 court of the jurisdiction of residence of the ag11 grieved person. 

12 ‘‘(B) SECURITY.—The court may provide 

13 that no restraining order or preliminary injunc14 tion shall issue unless security is provided by 

15 the applicant, in such sum as the court deter16 mines to be appropriate, for the payment of 

17 such costs and damages as may be incurred or 

18 suffered by any party that is found to have 

19 been wrongfully enjoined or restrained. 

20 ‘‘(2) DAMAGES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person injured in 

22 the business or property of the person by rea23 son of any violation of, or combination or con24 spiracy to violate, this Act may bring a civil ac25 tion in the United States district court of the 


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1 jurisdiction of residence of the injured person 

2 or any State court of competent jurisdiction to 

3 recover— 

4 ‘‘(i) damages sustained by the person 

5 as a result of the violation; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) any additional penalty that the 

7 court may allow, but not more than $1,000 

8 per violation. 

9 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS.—A civil ac10 tion under subparagraph (A) shall be barred 

11 unless commenced within 4 years after the 

12 cause of action accrues. 

13 ‘‘(3) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—In any action com14 menced under paragraph (1) or (2), the court may 

15 allow the prevailing party the costs of the litigation, 

16 including reasonable attorneys’ fees. 

17 ‘‘(c) JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS.—Not later 

18 than 4 years after the date on which a violation of this 

19 Act occurs, an action to enforce this Act may be brought 

20 in— 

21 ‘‘(1) the United States district court of the ju22 risdiction of residence of the aggrieved person, not23 withstanding the fact that an aggrieved person has 

24 not exhausted all administrative or other remedies 

25 provided by law; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) any other court of competent jurisdiction 

2 in the State of residence of the aggrieved person. 

3 ‘‘(d) CHOICE OF LAW, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) CHOICE OF LAW.—Any provision in a pro5 duction contract requiring the application of the law 

6 of a State other than the State in which the pro7 ducer resides is void and unenforceable. 

8 ‘‘(2) JURISDICTION.—A covered person that en9 ters into a production contract with a producer shall 

10 be subject to personal jurisdiction in the State in 

11 which the producer resides. 

12 ‘‘(3) VENUE.—Venue shall be determined on 

13 the basis of the residence of the producer. 

14 ‘‘(e) LIABILITY FOR ACTS OF AGENTS.—In the con15 struction and enforcement of this Act, the act, omission, 

16 or failure of any officer, agent, or person acting for or 

17 employed by any other person within the scope of the em18 ployment or office of the officer, agent, or person, shall 

19 be considered to be the act, omission, or failure of the 

20 other person. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 207. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

22 ‘‘(a) STATE LAWS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

24 this Act does not annul, alter, or affect, or exempt 

25 any person subject to this Act from complying with, 


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1 the law of any State with respect to trade practices 

2 in agriculture. 

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—This Act annuls, al5 ters, or affects, or exempts a person from, a 

6 State law referred to in paragraph (1) to the 

7 extent the State law is inconsistent with this 

8 Act. 

9 ‘‘(B) INCONSISTENCY.—For the purposes 

10 of this paragraph, a State law is not incon11 sistent with this Act if the protection that the 

12 law affords any producer is greater than the 

13 protection provided to a producer by this Act. 

14 ‘‘(b) STATE COURTS.—This Act does not deprive a 

15 State court of jurisdiction under a State law dealing with 

16 the same subject as this Act. 

17 ‘‘(c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—The Packers 

18 and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) and the 

19 Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 

20 499a et seq.) shall control if there is a conflict between 

21 those Acts and section 206. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 208. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSOCIATION DUES AND FEES. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A producer of an agricultural 

24 commodity or service may execute, as a clause in a produc25 tion contract or a marketing contract, an assignment of 


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1 dues or fees to, or the deduction of a sum to be retained 

2 by, an association of producers authorized by contract to 

3 represent the producer, under which assignment a covered 

4 person shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) deduct a portion of the amount to be paid 

6 for products or services of the producer under a pro7 duction contract or a marketing contract; and 

8 ‘‘(2) pay, on behalf of the producer, the portion 

9 over to the association as dues or fees or a sum to 

10 be retained by the association. 

11 ‘‘(b) DUTY OF COVERED PERSON.—After a covered 

12 person receives notice from a producer of an assignment 

13 under subsection (a), the covered person shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) deduct the amount authorized by the as15 signment from the amount paid for any agricultural 

16 commodity sold by the producer or for any service 

17 rendered under any production contract or mar18 keting contract; and 

19 ‘‘(2) on payment to producers for the product 

20 or service, pay the amount over to the association or 

21 the assignee of the association. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 209. SEVERABILITY. 

23 ‘‘If any provision of this Act or application of any 

24 provision of this Act is held invalid, the remainder of this 


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1 Act and the application of the provision to other persons 

2 and circumstances shall not be affected by the invalidity.’’. 

3 SEC. 102. APPLICATION. 

4 The amendment made by section 101 applies to any 

5 contract entered into on or after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act. 

7 TITLE II—PACKERS AND 

8 STOCKYARDS 

9 SEC. 201. INVESTIGATION OF LIVE POULTRY DEALERS. 

10 (a) REMOVAL OF POULTRY SLAUGHTER REQUIRE11 MENT FROM DEFINITIONS.—Section 2(a) of the Packers 

12 and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182(a)), is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(8) POULTRY GROWER.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘poultry 

18 grower’ means any person engaged in the busi19 ness of raising or caring for live poultry under 

20 a poultry growing arrangement, regardless of 

21 whether the poultry is owned by the person or 

22 by another person. 

23 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘poultry 

24 grower’ does not include an employee of the 


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1 owner of live poultry described in subparagraph 

2 (A).’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and cares for 

4 live poultry for delivery, in accord with another’s in5 structions, for slaughter’’ and inserting ‘‘or cares for 

6 live poultry in accordance with the instructions of 

7 another person’’; and 

8 (3) in paragraph (10), by striking ‘‘for the pur9 pose of either slaughtering it or selling it for slaugh10 ter by another’’. 

11 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY

12 OVER LIVE POULTRY DEALERS.—Sections 203, 204, and 

13 205 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 

14 193, 194, 195), are amended by striking ‘‘packer or swine 

15 contractor’’ and inserting ‘‘packer, live poultry dealer, or 

16 swine contractor’’ each place it appears. 

17 (c) AUTHORITY TO REQUEST TEMPORARY INJUNC18 TION OR RESTRAINING ORDER.—Section 408 of the Pack19 ers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 228a), is amend20 ed in the first sentence by striking ‘‘on account of poultry’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘on account of poultry or poultry care’’. 

22 (d) VIOLATIONS BY LIVE POULTRY DEALERS.— 

23 (1) PENALTY.—Section 203(b) of the Packers 

24 and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 193(b)) is 


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1 amended in the third sentence by striking 

2 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$22,000’’. 

3 (2) REPEALS.—Sections 411, 412, and 413 of 

4 the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 

5 228b–2, 228b–3, 228b–4)), are repealed. 

6 SEC. 202. NO COMPETITIVE INJURY REQUIREMENT. 

7 Section 202 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 

8 (7 U.S.C. 192), is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting after ‘‘de10 vice’’ the following: ‘‘, regardless of whether the 

11 practice or device causes a competitive injury or oth12 erwise adversely affects competition and regardless 

13 of any alleged business justification for the practice 

14 or device’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (e), by inserting after ‘‘com16 merce’’ the following: ‘‘, regardless of whether the 

17 course of business or act causes a competitive injury 

18 or otherwise adversely affects competition and re19 gardless of any alleged business justification for the 

20 course of business or act’’. 

21 SEC. 203. ATTORNEYS’ FEES. 

22 Section 308(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 

23 1921 (7 U.S.C. 209(a)) is amended by inserting before 

24 the period at the end the following: ‘‘and for the costs 

25 of the litigation, including reasonable attorneys’ fees’’. 


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1 SEC. 204. APPOINTMENT OF OUTSIDE COUNSEL. 

2 Section 407(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 

3 1921 (7 U.S.C. 228(a)), is amended by inserting ‘‘obtain 

4 the services of attorneys who are not employees of the 

5 Federal Government,’’ before ‘‘and make such expendi6 tures’’. 

7 SEC. 205. REGULATIONS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 

10 shall promulgate regulations to implement the amend11 ments made by this Act, including providing a definition 

12 of the term ‘‘unreasonable preference or advantage’’ for 

13 purposes of section 202(b) of the Packers and Stockyards 

14 Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 192(b)). 

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Regulations promulgated 

16 under subsection (a) shall strictly prohibit any preferences 

17 or price differences based on volume except for preferences 

18 or price differences that reflect actual, verifiable lower 

19 costs of acquiring livestock from larger volume producers. 

Æ 


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