U.S. Sen. Feingold: Attends USDA/DOJ workshop in Madison focusing on dairy industry

Feingold Attends Morning Session, Plans to Attend Afternoon Public Comment Period

Madison, Wis. – This morning, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold attended the morning session of a joint workshop in Madison, Wisconsin put on by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) examining competition within the dairy industry. Feingold also plans to attend a session this afternoon dedicated to public testimony. The workshop is part of a series of workshops USDA and DOJ are jointly holding around the country focusing on competition in the agriculture industry. Prior to the hearing, Feingold worked to ensure there was adequate time allotted for the public to participate and raise their concerns directly with administration officials. Today, there will be two sessions for public testimony.

“These workshops are incredibly important because these officials are getting out of Washington and hearing directly from the family farmers, cheese makers and others whose lives and livelihoods have been impacted by consolidation within the dairy industry,” Feingold said. “I am particularly pleased the administration followed my suggestion to have two public comment sessions. After holding listening sessions in every Wisconsin county every year, I know how useful input from the public is. It is the consistent stories and concerns from dairy farmers at these listening sessions that have guided me on the issue of consolidation in the dairy industry, even when the previous administration was turning a blind eye to it.”

Feingold has been a leader in the U.S. Senate in fighting anti-competitive practices in agriculture, particularly in the dairy industry. During the March 2009 confirmation hearing of Christine Varney to be Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, Varney promised that she would examine questionable antitrust decisions of the Bush administration. And in response to concerns raised by constituents about anti-competition issues in the industry, Feingold worked to facilitate a meeting between Varney and agriculture industry experts including University of Wisconsin professor, Peter Carstensen. The meeting took place on March 27, 2009.

A timeline of Senator Feingold’s recent efforts to address anti-competition in the dairy industry is available here. http://feingold.senate.gov/anticompetition_timeline.html