[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 144 (Tuesday, August 28, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5993-S5994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

       By Mr. BOOKER:
   S. 3404. A bill to impose a moratorium on large agribusiness, food 
and beverage manufacturing, and grocery retail mergers, and to 
establish a commission to review large agriculture, food and beverage 
manufacturing, and grocery retail mergers, concentration, and market 
power; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Food and Agribusiness Merger 
Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act of 2018, a critical bill that would 
put a pause on the largest, most consequential acquisitions and mergers 
in the food and agriculture sector, and give Congress an opportunity to 
update our antitrust laws in order to protect America's farmers, 
workers and rural communities who are being harmed by the ever 
increasing levels of corporate concentration.
  Almost 20 years ago, Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota introduced 
the Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act of 1999.
  Senator Wellstone introduced that bill out of a concern that growing 
concentration in the agricultural sector was harming our farmers and 
rural communities, and was causing agricultural commodity markets to 
become stacked against the farmer.
  Senator Wellstone was right to be concerned, and over the past two 
decades concentration has only gotten worse--much worse. Today a small 
number of giant companies control every link of the food chain.
  Consolidation has now reached a point where the top four firms in 
almost every sector in the food and agriculture economy have acquired 
abusive levels of market power.
  Recently I traveled and met with farmers and ranchers in rural 
America. I heard firsthand how excessive levels of concentration and 
market power hurt our independent family farmers, who are being forced 
to sell into ever more concentrated marketplaces that unfairly reduce 
the prices they receive for their crops and livestock.
  The data paints a grim picture: The farmer's share of every retail 
dollar has plummeted from 41 percent in 1950 to approximately 15 
percent today. Since 2013, net farm income for United States farmers 
has fallen by half and median farm income was negative in 2017 and is 
expected to be negative again in 2018.
  Excessive market power has led to price gouging of both farmers and 
consumers. For example, in 2016 the largest pork producer in the U.S., 
Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods, credited its enhanced profits to the 
14-year low prices paid to farmers for live hogs and the higher selling 
prices for pork to consumers.
  In the past three decades, the top four largest pork packers have 
seized control of 71 percent of the market, up from 36 percent. Over 
the same period, the top four beef packers have expanded their market 
share from 32 percent to 85 percent. The top four flour millers have 
increased their market share from 40 percent to 64 percent. The market 
share of the top four soybean crushers has jumped from 54 percent to 79 
percent, and the top four wet corn processors control of the market has 
increased from 63 percent to 86 percent.
  The top four grain companies today control nearly 90 percent of the 
global grain market.
  During the past two years, there has been a wave of consolidation 
among global seed and crop-chemical firms, and three companies now 
control nearly two-thirds of the world's commodity crop seeds. Those 
same three companies now also control nearly 70 percent of all 
agricultural chemicals and pesticides.
  In the United States, the four largest corn seed sellers accounted 
for 85 percent of the market in 2015, up from 60 percent in 2000. Over 
the past 20 years, the cost for an acre's worth of seeds for an average 
corn farmer has nearly quadrupled, and the cost of fertilizer has more 
than doubled. Yet corn yields increased only 36 percent over that time, 
and the price received for the sale of a bushel of corn increased only 
31 percent.
  71 percent of the contract poultry growers who depend on the income 
from their poultry contracts live at or below the federal poverty 
level.
  The United States is losing farmers at an alarming rate, agricultural 
jobs and wages are drying up, and rural communities are disappearing.
  These problems can be mitigated by more active use of our antitrust 
laws, and allowing an opportunity for U.S. farmers and ranchers to 
compete in fair and open markets.
  The Food and Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act 
provides the opportunity to stop increased consolidation through 
acquisitions and mergers until such time as a full review of the impact 
of concentration is completed and government responses are formulated.
  Specifically, this bill would halt large mergers in the food system 
for 18 months and would set up a commission to study how to strengthen 
antitrust oversight of the farm and food sectors and publish 
recommended improvements to merger enforcement.
  This moratorium would provide needed time to develop new tools to 
strengthen merger enforcement and antitrust rules to address the unique 
conditions in the farm and food economy and protect farmers, workers 
and consumers.
  The federal government needs to provide safeguards to the 
agricultural marketplace so that farmers and workers have the 
opportunity to share in the prosperity that open, transparent and fair 
markets can provide them.
  Senator Wellstone was prescient when he put forward this legislation 
almost twenty years ago. The problem of concentration was apparent 
then, and has grown even worse. What would

[[Page S5994]]

have been had the Senate passed this legislation then?
  I did not have the opportunity to serve alongside Senator Wellstone, 
but I know from my colleagues who did, that there was no better 
advocate, no better organizer, who understood the power of coalitions, 
who understood the power of taking an issue to the Senate floor and 
demanding action. I look forward to working with my colleagues, 
educating others about this issue, and continuing the work he started 
to defend farmers, workers, and consumers from the harms being posed by 
corporate concentration.
  This legislation has broad support, with endorsements from the 
following organizations:

       ActionAid USA, Alabama Contract Poultry Growers 
     Association, Alliance for Democracy, American Agriculture 
     Movement, American Grassfed Association, Animal Wellness 
     Action, Appetite for Change (MN), Beyond Pesticides, 
     California Dairy Campaign, California Farmers Union, Campaign 
     for Contract Agriculture Reform, Campaign for Family Farms 
     and the Environment, Cattle Producers of Louisiana, Center 
     for Food Safety, Community Farm Alliance (KY), Contract 
     Poultry Growers Association of the Virginias, The Cornucopia 
     Institute, Crawford Stewardship Project (WI), Dakota Rural 
     Action of SD, Dallas Farmers Market Friends, Family Farm 
     Action.
       Family Farm Defenders (WI), Farm Aid, Farm and Ranch 
     Freedom Alliance, Farmworker Association of Florida, 
     Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance Fund, 
     Food & Water Watch, Food Chain Workers Alliance, Food for 
     Maine's Future, Food Policy Council of San Antonio, Friends 
     of the Earth U.S., Government Accountability Project, GROW 
     North Texas, HEAL Food Alliance, Idaho Organization of 
     Resource Councils, Illinois Farmers Union, Illinois 
     Stewardship Alliance, Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming, 
     Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Iowa Citizens for 
     Community Improvement, Iowa Farmers Union.
       Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future (MD), Kansas 
     Farmers Union, Land Stewardship Project (MN), Michigan 
     Farmers Union, Minnesota Farmers Union, Missouri Farmers 
     Union, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, National Family Farm 
     Coalition, National Farmers Organization, National Farmers 
     Union, National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association, 
     National Women Involved in Farm Economics, Nebraska Farmers 
     Union, North Dakota Farmers Union, Northeast Organic Dairy 
     Producers Alliance, Northeast Organic Farming Assoc.--NY, 
     Northeast Organic Farming Assoc.--VT, Northern Plains 
     Resource Council (MT), Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance 
     (MA), Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association.
       Oklahoma Independent Stockgrowers Association, Oklahoma 
     Stewardship Council, Organic Farmers' Agency for Relationship 
     Marketing (OFARM), Organic Seed Alliance, Organic Seed 
     Growers & Trade Association (OSGATA), Organization for 
     Competitive Markets, PCC Community Markets (WA), Pennsylvania 
     Farmers Union, Powder River Basin Resource Council (WY), R-
     CALF United Stockgrowers of America, Rocky Mountain Farmers 
     Union, Rural Advancement Foundation International--USA (RAFI-
     USA), Rural Coalition/Coalicion Rural, Rural Vermont, Slow 
     Food Dallas-Ft. Worth, South Dakota Farmers Union, Southern 
     Colorado Livestock Association, State of Missouri National 
     Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Western 
     Colorado Alliance, Wisconsin Farmers Union.

  Thank you, Madam President.

                          ____________________