Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock Confronts Rail, Seed and Meat

When Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock http://www.doj.mt.gov/ looks across his home state’s vast rural landscape, he sees an economy still heavily dependent on farming and ranching jobs. From mountainous western Montana to the high plains at the edge of the Dakotas, roughly a third of the economy remains tied to traditional work in the fields and out on the range.

But this important segment of the Montana economy is increasingly beset by worries over consolidation and other anti-competitive concerns in related industries like meatpacking, rail transportation and seed production. These trends, which have been unfolding for decades, are putting the squeeze on the state’s small family farmers and ranchers.

The steady pace of consolidation in these industries is also hitting consumers’ pocketbooks, it’s argued.

By Jason D.B. Kauffman/NewWest.Net

Full Story: http://www.dailyyonder.com/montana-ag-confronts-rail-seed-and-meat/2010/12/01/3061