The meat and poultry industry is the largest sector of the American agricultural economy, employing more than six million workers and generating a total economic output of more than $830 billion. The meat and poultry industry is fuel for our nation's economic engine. So what is USDA thinking? asks American Meat Institute (AMI) President and CEO J. Patrick Boyle in a Washington Examiner guest editorial on the proposed USDA Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) livestock procurement rule.

If the rule moves forward, Boyle notes that nearly 105,000 jobs will be lost, along with $14 billion in overall economic activity generated by the meat and poultry industry. Federal and state taxes generated by the meat and poultry industry will decrease by $80 billion.

In addition, according to the new economic analysis by John Dunham and Associates on behalf of AMI, meat and poultry prices will increase by 3.3% and cost Americans $2.7 billion in higher prices.

To read the entire article, link here.