I rope with an old friend,he's 78 and still visits the pay window occasionally,nuthin big mind you just some country ropin jackpots,anyway I like to talk to some of these old timers listen to their stories,this one is about Ranchers and packers.
And was told to me by him,passed down from long ago.
anyway....................
Many years ago America was controlled by corporate alliances called trusts,there were several of them,there was a sugar trust,a steel trust a tobacco trust and a beef trust to name a few.
Anyway the Beef trust set cattle prices and anyone who did not like it were unable to sell their cattle at any price.
At the height of the beef trust there were 5 large packers controlling the market,they could make or break any rancher the liked or disliked through sales.
even tho America had trusts it also had trustbusters people and elected poloticians that believed concentrated economic power was a threat to the country.
the Sherman trust act was passed in 1890 after a congressional investigation of price fixin in the meat packing industry,and for the next 25 years the federal goverment tried to break the beef trust with no success.
In 1917Woodrow wilson ordered the federal trade commission to investigate the meat packers
the feds concluded the packers were fixing prices and had for years,now this is in 1917,so you tell me "do packers have a long hisory of price fixin" and also they had colluded to divide markets,which I believe is being done today.
In 1920 the 5 meat packers afraid that an antitrust trial might land their ass in the pen signed a consent form forcing them to sell off their stockyards and retail meat stores.
In 1921 congress created the packers and stockyard administration to prevent price fixin by meat packers.
For the next 50 years ranchers sold their stock in a competetive market place,the price of cattle was set in open bidding at auction,the 5 large packers competed with hundreds of small packers,as it should be today
The propose gipsa rule will go along ways towards that goal,packers are just buisness men,they want as much as they can get,keep em on a short rope and ever thing will be fine.
good luck