By JIM RUTLEDGE

D.C. Correspondent

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Among the proposed legislation facing the 116th Congress when newly elected lawmakers and incumbents take office on Jan. 3, 2019, is a bill supported by 213 farm, food and rural groups to impose a temporary moratorium on agribusiness mergers, following three takeovers in the past 24 months that now control two-thirds of the crop seed market.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) introduced the Food and Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act of 2018, two companion bills, or Senate Bill 3404 and House Resolution 6800.

The legislation would impose an 18-month moratorium on the mega-mergers and acquisitions that have swept the agribusiness, food manufacturing and grocery industries. The lawmakers say this wave of consolidation has contributed to falling farm prices, declining farm incomes, stagnate wagers for food workers, raising food prices and economic stagnation in rural communities.

Just a year ago in September, two of the nation’s largest agribusinesses created a $130 billion conglomerate, DowDuPont.

“Corporate consolidation has long been one of the greatest challenges plaguing family farmers, ranchers and rural communities,” said Roger Johnson, president of the National Farmers Union, one of the groups endorsing the legislation. “By allowing us to step back to evaluate and strengthen the United States’ antitrust framework, the merger moratorium is a meaningful first step in stemming the tide of concentration in the agriculture and food sectors.”

On Nov. 1, the 213 organizations and associations sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to take up the legislation that stated, in part: “Consolidation has contributed to the rising prices farmers pay for supplies and the declining prices farmers receive for their crops and livestock. Farmers now only receive about 14 cents for every dollars at the grocery store.”

The four-page letter was signed by groups from 47 states and most state, regional and national organizations, on behalf of almost every sector of the farm and food producing community. Notably absent from the letter were the American Farm Bureau Federation and national and state cattle and beef associations.

“With the recent onslaught of agricultural mega-mergers and acquisitions, including those of multinational giants like ChemChina and Syngenta, Bayer and Monsanto and Marfrig and National Beef, there has never been a more pressing time for Congress to take action,” said Joe Maxwell, executive director of the Organization of Competitive Markets.

“OCM is encouraged by the groundswell of organizational support and proud to stand with more than 200 groups calling for a crackdown on monopolistic corporate practices that hurt farmers, workers, consumers and our communities.”

Booker’s bill was first introduced on August 28, followed 16 days later by Pocan’s legislation with five co-sponsors in the House, including Macy Kapture of Ohio and Chellie Pingree of Maine (both reelected in last week’s midterms), Rose DeLauro of Connecticut, Ro Khanna of California and Keith Ellison (who did not run for reelection but instead won his bid to be Minnesota’s attorney general). It’s not known if Pocan will pick another cosponsor to replace Ellison.

With the Democrats winning control of the House, there is a likelihood the legislation will gain momentum but may face a tough battle from the Senate, as Republicans still control that chamber and their votes seem to support big-business mergers.

When Booker announced the legislation, he said, “A small number of giant companies control every link of our food chain. Consolidation has now reached a point where the top four firms in almost every sector of the food and agriculture economy have acquired abusive levels of market power. As a result, the U.S. is losing farmers at an alarming rate, agricultural jobs and wages are drying up and rural communities are disappearing.”

S.B. 3404 would also establish a commission to study ways to strengthen antitrust oversight of the farm and food sectors and recommend improvements to merger enforcement. Booker said he modeled this provision after a similar proposal introduced 20 years ago by late Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone.