The Commission demanded a final decision by November 1. In response to Secretary Glickman's request for comments on WORC's proposal, cattle producers and consumers favored it by a ratio of 33 to 1.
Organizations supporting the rules represent hundreds of thousands of producers and consumers.
In January, the National Commission on Small Farms unanimously recommended USDA's adoption of the proposal. USDA has taken no action on the proposal. The minority report of your Advisory Committee on Agricultural Concentration recommended adoption of restrictions on captive supplies two and a half years ago. We presented you with the petition for rulemaking two years ago. The members of these groups are farmers, ranchers, small business and working people who seek to protect natural resources, family farms, and rural communities.