Readout of White House and Department of Agriculture Listening Session on Competition Legislative Priorities with Food and Agriculture Advocacy Organizations

Promoting competition to lower costs and help small businesses thrive, including in agricultural markets, is a key pillar of Bidenomics. Today, the White House and Department of Agriculture convened a listening session with representatives from 16 food and agriculture advocacy organizations to discuss the need for more competition in key agricultural markets.

Senior White House and Department of Agriculture officials opened the session by explaining that President Biden has made promoting competition in agricultural markets a priority of his economic agenda. They explained how industry consolidation—whether in meat and poultry processing, ocean shipping, or other fields—can decrease options for inputs like seeds, fertilizer, and farm equipment and limit channels for selling products. Officials also highlighted steps that the Administration has taken to date to spur competition, increase transparency, and support new markets and opportunities in the agriculture sector. They expressed support for further legislative action to protect farmers and ranchers from abuse, promote competition, and make our supply chains more diverse and resilient, and they noted that they are encouraged to see this is an area of bipartisan interest.

During the listening session, participants representing a diverse set of agricultural communities described their experiences with how consolidation has harmed family farmers and ranchers and raised prices for American consumers. Many participants noted progress that has been made under the Biden-Harris Administration to invest in independent meat and poultry processing capacity, expand market opportunities and seed choices for farmers and support a growing workforce in rural areas, and asked that the Administration continue efforts to combat consolidation. They expressed their support for bipartisan legislation to further promote competition in the food supply chain. Officials closed the meeting by reiterating the President’s commitment to promoting competition across industries and thanked participants for their hard work and feedback.

Food and Agriculture Participants

• American Economic Liberties Project
• Campaign for Family Farmers and the Environment
• Farm Action
• National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
• Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform
• National Farmers Union
• Organization for Competitive Markets
• Rural Advancement Foundation International
• Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America
• American Farm Bureau Federation
• Organic Seed Alliance
• U.S. Cattlemen’s Association
• National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
• Western Organization of Resource Councils
• P Street Project
• United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW)

Government Participants

• Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Assistant to the President & Deputy Director, National Economic Council
• Hannah Garden-Monheit, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, National Economic Council
• Alex Jacquez, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy, National Economic Council
• Kelliann Blazek, Special Assistant to the President for Rural & Agriculture Policy, Domestic Policy Council
• Will McIntee, Senior Advisor for Public Engagement, White House Office of Public Engagement
• Alejandro Molina, Senior Policy Advisor, National Economic Council
• Michael Schmidt, Senior Advisor, Office of the Secretary, USDA
• Andy Green, Senior Advisor for Fair & Competitive Markets, USDA
• Valerie McMakin, Chief of Staff, USDA Office of Congressional Relations

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