At 08:40 AM 12/16/97 PST, Greg and Lei Gunthorp wrote:
> I'm off to meet with President Clinton tomorrow. Thanks to a nomination
on the Small Farm
>Commission by a close freind, Steve Bonney, president of Indiana
Sustainable Ag.
>I get to ask one question. My question is going to pertain to market
access/concentration and
>the effect regulations are having on further consolidation of the
industry. I haven't got the exact
>wording yet, but I beleive too many times we fail to see the consequences
of our laws and regulations. Most regulations add fixed costs which are
more easily absorbed by large farms or
>processors. I don't expect anything from the government because I am one
of the smallest full time
>hog producers in this country except a level playing feild. If I can't
compete on cost of production
>then I have a management problem. If I don't have market access(like the
poultry industry) then
>the government is not ensuring a competitive free enterprise system.
> By the way, I personally see more problems in the processing industry
with regulations driving
>concentration than I see on my own farm. It is the trends that I am most
worried about. If we
>don't do something to turn them around we are going to have a handful of
farmers and processors
>in the whole country. I personally beleive most laws were wrote with the
big guys interest in mind.
> I am exempt form the manure management regulations. Rightly so because I
am raising animals on pasture(not bare dirt lots!!!). The current
regulations in the hog industry are not even slowing the big guys down.
They are slowing down small family producers that have to live in the
community
>where the hogs are raised.
> My family has raised pigs on pasture since they have been in the United
States. They moved when the toll road went through because they couldn't
pasture hogs on the back half of the farm! My son will continue the
tradition if he has a market for pigs. I'm very optimistic about the hog
market because my son will turn 1 year old this week.
> Any comments on my concern before this evening would be appreciated.
>Best wishes,
>Greg Gunthorp
>hey4hogs@kuntrynet.com
>
>
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