creating a monopoly in the acquisition of, buying, 
selling, or dealing in, any article, or of restraining 
commerce; 
‘‘(3) to engage in any course of business or do 
any act for the purpose or with the effect or manip-
ulating or controlling prices, or of creating a monop-
oly in the acquisition of, buying, selling, or dealing 
in, any article, or of restraining commerce; 
‘‘(4) to conspire, combine, agree, or arrange 
with any other person— 
‘‘(A) to apportion territory for carrying on 
business; 
‘‘(B) to apportion purchases or sales of 
any article; or 
‘‘(C) to manipulate or control prices; or 
‘‘(5) to conspire, combine, agree, or arrange 
with any other person to do, or aid or abet the doing 
of, any act made unlawful by paragraph (1), (2), 
(3), or (4). 
‘‘(c) PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.—In deter-
mining whether an act, device, or anti-competitive practice 
described in subsection (a) is unfair, a court may consider 
whether— 
‘‘(1) a reasonable person would consider the 
act, device, or practice unfair under the cir-
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cumstances, whether or not the act, device, or prac-
tice has previously been found unlawful; or 
‘‘(2) the act, device, or practice may violate 
standards established by Federal or State law (in-
cluding common law and regulations). 
‘‘SEC. 202. PROHIBITIONS INVOLVING PRODUCER ASSOCIA-
TIONS AND PRODUCTION CONTRACTS. 
‘‘(a) ANY UNLAWFUL ACT INVOLVING PRODUCER 
ASSOCIATIONS AND PRODUCTION CONTRACTS.—It shall 
be unlawful for any covered person— 
‘‘(1)(A) to interfere with, restrain, or coerce 
any producer in the exercise of the right of the pro-
ducer to join and belong to, or to refrain from join-
ing or belonging to, an association of producers; or 
‘‘(B) to refuse to deal with any producer be-
cause of the exercise of the right of the producer to 
join and belong to the association; 
‘‘(2) to discriminate against any producer with 
respect to price, quantity, quality, or other terms of 
purchase, acquisition, or other handling of an agri-
cultural commodity because of the membership of 
the producer in, or the contract of the producer 
with, an association of producers; 
‘‘(3) to coerce or intimidate any producer to 
enter into, maintain, breach, cancel, or terminate a 
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membership agreement or marketing contract with 
an association of producers or a contract with a cov-
ered person; 
‘‘(4) to pay or loan money, give any thing of 
value, or offer any other inducement or reward to a 
producer for refusing to or ceasing to belong to an 
association of producers; 
‘‘(5) to make false reports about the finances, 
management, or activities of an association of pro-
ducers or covered persons; 
‘‘(6) to conspire, combine, agree, or arrange 
with any other person to do, or aid or abet the per-
formance of, any act made unlawful by this Act; 
‘‘(7)(A) to interfere with the formation or ad-
ministration of any association of producers; or 
‘‘(B) to contribute financial or other support to 
an association of producers; or 
‘‘(8) to fail to bargain in good faith with an as-
sociation of producers. 
‘‘(b) ANY UNLAWFUL ACT IN PRODUCTION CON-
TRACTS.—It shall be unlawful for a covered person that 
is a party to a production contract— 
‘‘(1) to fail to act in good faith with respect to 
the performance and enforcement of the production 
contract; 
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‘‘(2) to fail to include 1 or more cover pages 
that disclose provisions of the production contract 
relating to— 
‘‘(A) duration; 
‘‘(B) termination; 
‘‘(C) renewal and renegotiation standards; 
‘‘(D) responsibility for environmental dam-
age; 
‘‘(E) factors to be used in determining 
payment; 
‘‘(F) responsibility for obtaining and com-
plying with Federal, State, and local permits; 
‘‘(G) assignability; 
‘‘(H) the applicable State law and venue; 
‘‘(I) the effect of oral modifications; 
‘‘(J) remedies for breach; 
‘‘(K) in the case of a livestock or poultry 
production contract, the minimum number of 
animals subject to the contract; 
‘‘(L) other rules or provisions incorporated 
in the contract by reference; and 
‘‘(M) any other terms that the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate for disclosure; or 
‘‘(3) to violate any of the requirements relating 
to production contracts under section 204. 
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‘‘(c) PUBLIC POLICY CONSIDERATIONS.—In deter-
mining whether an act, device, or anti-competitive practice 
described in section 201(a), with respect to the production 
of an agricultural commodity, is unfair, a court may con-
sider whether— 
‘‘(1) a reasonable person would consider the 
act, device, or practice unfair under the cir-
cumstances, whether or not the act, device, or prac-
tice has previously been found unlawful; or 
‘‘(2) the act, device, or practice may violate 
standards established by Federal or State law (in-
cluding common law and regulations). 
‘‘SEC. 203. PRODUCTION CONTRACTS AND MARKETING 
CONTRACTS. 
‘‘(a) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any provision of a produc-
tion contract or a marketing contract that requires that 
the production contract or marketing contract remain con-
fidential is void, except as the provision applies to a trade 
secret to which section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 
applies. 
‘‘(b) ARBITRATION.—If a livestock or poultry con-
tract or marketing contract provides for the use of arbitra-
tion to resolve a controversy under the livestock or poultry 
contract or marketing contract, arbitration may be used 
to settle the controversy only if, after the controversy 
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arises, both parties consent in writing to use arbitration 
to settle the controversy. 
‘‘SEC. 204. PRODUCTION CONTRACTS. 
‘‘(a) RIGHT OF CONTRACT PRODUCERS TO CANCEL 
PRODUCTION CONTRACTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A contract producer may 
cancel a production contract by mailing a cancella-
tion notice to the contractor not later than the later 
of— 
‘‘(A) the date that is 3 business days after 
the date on which the production contract is ex-
ecuted; or 
‘‘(B) any cancellation date specified in the 
production contract. 
‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE.—A production contract shall 
clearly disclose— 
‘‘(A) the right of the contract producer to 
cancel the production contract; 
‘‘(B) the method by which the contract 
producer may cancel the production contract; 
and 
‘‘(C) the deadline for canceling the produc-
tion contract. 
‘‘(b) PRODUCTION CONTRACTS INVOLVING INVEST-
MENT REQUIREMENTS.— 
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‘‘(1) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection applies 
only to a production contract between a contract 
producer and a contractor if, but for the production 
contract, the contract producer would not have made 
a capital investment of $100,000 or more. 
‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS
ON
CONTRACT
TERMI-
NATION.— 
‘‘(A) NOTICE
OF
TERMINATION.—Except 
as provided in subparagraph (C), a contractor 
shall not terminate or cancel a production con-
tract unless the contractor provides the contract 
producer with written notice of the intention of 
the contractor to terminate or cancel the pro-
duction contract at least 180 days before the ef-
fective date of the termination or cancellation. 
‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The written notice 
required under subparagraph (A) shall include 
alleged causes of the termination. 
‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.—A contractor may ter-
minate or cancel a production contract without 
notice as required under subparagraph (A) if 
the basis for the termination or cancellation 
is— 
‘‘(i) a voluntary abandonment of the 
contractual relationship by the contract 
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producer, such as a complete failure of the 
contract producer to perform under the 
production contract; 
‘‘(ii) the conviction of the contract 
producer of an offense of fraud or theft 
committed against the contractor; or 
‘‘(iii) the natural end of the produc-
tion contract in accordance with the terms 
of the production contract. 
‘‘(D) RIGHT TO CURE.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If, not later than 
180 days after the date on which the con-
tract producer receives written notice 
under subparagraph (A), the contract pro-
ducer remedies each cause of the breach of 
contract alleged in the written notice, the 
contractor may not terminate or cancel a 
production contract under this paragraph. 
‘‘(ii) NO
ADMISSION
OF
BREACH.— 
The remedy or attempt to remedy the 
causes for the breach of contract by the 
contract producer under clause (i) does not 
constitute an admission of breach of con-
tract. 
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‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL CAPITAL INVESTMENTS IN PRO-
DUCTION CONTRACTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered person shall not 
require a contract producer to make additional cap-
ital investments in connection with a production con-
tract that exceed the initial investment requirements 
of the production contract. 
‘‘(2) 
EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding 
para-
graph (1), a covered person may require additional 
capital investments if— 
‘‘(A) the additional capital investments are 
offset by reasonable additional consideration, 
including compensation or a modification to the 
terms of the production contract; and 
‘‘(B) the contract producer agrees in writ-
ing that there is acceptable and satisfactory 
consideration for the additional capital invest-
ment. 
‘‘SEC. 205. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO PROMULGATE 
RULES AND REGULATIONS. 
‘‘The Secretary, acting through the Special Counsel 
for Competition Matters, may promulgate such rules and 
regulations as are necessary to carry out this Act and the 
Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), 
including rules and regulations— 
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‘‘(1) relating to unfair, unjustly discriminatory, 
or deceptive acts, devices, or anti-competitive prac-
tices in agriculture; 
‘‘(2) that define with specificity any act, device, 
or practice that is to be prohibited as unfair, un-
justly discriminatory, or any deceptive act, device, or 
anti-competitive practice in agriculture under section 
201 or 202; and 
‘‘(3) to prevent any unfair, unjustly discrimina-
tory, or deceptive act, device, or anti-competitive 
practice from occurring in agriculture. 
‘‘SEC. 206. ENFORCEMENT. 
‘‘(a) CIVIL ACTIONS BY THE SECRETARY AGAINST 
COVERED PERSONS.—In any case in which the Secretary 
has reasonable cause to believe that any covered person 
has engaged in any act or practice that violates this Act, 
the Secretary may bring a civil action in the United States 
district court of the jurisdiction of residence of the covered 
person by filing a complaint requesting preventive relief, 
including an application for a permanent or temporary in-
junction, restraining order, or other order, against the cov-
ered person. 
‘‘(b) CIVIL ACTIONS AGAINST COVERED PERSONS.— 
‘‘(1) PREVENTIVE RELIEF.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which 
any covered person has engaged, or there are 
reasonable grounds to believe that any covered 
person is about to engage, in any act or prac-
tice prohibited by this Act, a civil action for 
preventive relief, including an application for a 
permanent or temporary injunction, restraining 
order, or other order, may be instituted by the 
person aggrieved in the United States district 
court of the jurisdiction of residence of the ag-
grieved person. 
‘‘(B) SECURITY.—The court may provide 
that no restraining order or preliminary injunc-
tion shall issue unless security is provided by 
the applicant, in such sum as the court deter-
mines to be appropriate, for the payment of 
such costs and damages as may be incurred or 
suffered by any party that is found to have 
been wrongfully enjoined or restrained. 
‘‘(2) DAMAGES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person injured in 
the business or property of the person by rea-
son of any violation of, or combination or con-
spiracy to violate, this Act may bring a civil ac-
tion in the United States district court of the 
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jurisdiction of residence of the injured person 
or any State court of competent jurisdiction to 
recover— 
‘‘(i) damages sustained by the person 
as a result of the violation; and 
‘‘(ii) any additional penalty that the 
court may allow, but not more than $1,000 
per violation. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON ACTIONS.—A civil ac-
tion under subparagraph (A) shall be barred 
unless commenced within 4 years after the 
cause of action accrues. 
‘‘(3) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—In any action com-
menced under paragraph (1) or (2), the court may 
allow the prevailing party the costs of the litigation, 
including reasonable attorneys’ fees. 
‘‘(c) JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS.—Not later 
than 4 years after the date on which a violation of this 
Act occurs, an action to enforce this Act may be brought 
in— 
‘‘(1) the United States district court of the ju-
risdiction of residence of the aggrieved person, not-
withstanding the fact that an aggrieved person has 
not exhausted all administrative or other remedies 
provided by law; or 
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‘‘(2) any other court of competent jurisdiction 
in the State of residence of the aggrieved person. 
‘‘(d) CHOICE OF LAW, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE.— 
‘‘(1) CHOICE OF LAW.—Any provision in a pro-
duction contract requiring the application of the law 
of a State other than the State in which the pro-
ducer resides is void and unenforceable. 
‘‘(2) JURISDICTION.—A covered person that en-
ters into a production contract with a producer shall 
be subject to personal jurisdiction in the State in 
which the producer resides. 
‘‘(3) VENUE.—Venue shall be determined on 
the basis of the residence of the producer. 
‘‘(e) LIABILITY FOR ACTS OF AGENTS.—In the con-
struction and enforcement of this Act, the act, omission, 
or failure of any officer, agent, or person acting for or 
employed by any other person within the scope of the em-
ployment or office of the officer, agent, or person, shall 
be considered to be the act, omission, or failure of the 
other person. 
‘‘SEC. 207. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 
‘‘(a) STATE LAWS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
this Act does not annul, alter, or affect, or exempt 
any person subject to this Act from complying with, 
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