Antitrust Division 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) strongly believe that a competitive agriculture sector is vitally important to producers and consumers alike. To this end, the DOJ and USDA, with the participation of State Attorneys General, intend to hold a series of public workshops to explore competition issues affecting the agricultural sector in the 21st Century and the appropriate role for antitrust and regulatory enforcement in that sector. Agricultural producers and their representatives have expressed concerns about changes in the agricultural marketplace, including increasing processor concentration in some commodities. There have been several congressional oversight hearings related to competition in the agricultural sector, as well as legislative proposals to restrict the activities of agricultural processors and intensify federal government scrutiny of agricultural mergers.