They favored meat packer ownership of hogs. If a meat packer is going to own hogs, he s not going to need mine as an independent, says Leslein. NPPC spent all our money to help large-scale vertical integrators. Determan, who has heard the arguments the NPPC was not for small, independent producers, doesn t understand where that reasoning comes from. A lot of the research we ve done helps producers, no matter what their size or management style.
Conglomerates can pay for their own promotion.
I, myself, as a small producer can t pay for that producer education. The big guys haven t needed that, but we have, she says. Leslein, on the other hand, believes the NPPC used checkoff money to help large operations, such as Murphy Farms. The money has benefited meat packers, retailers and vertical integrators. There s nothing to help independent producers like myself, he says.