I'll start on some of your last questions.
You mentioned the NFU report. Some aspects of that NFU report do bear some looking at, but I think we have to recognize there is consolidation in the packing plants, just because of costs. We know that's going to happen, but we also know, where producers have tried to invest--I'm one who invested in Gencor, and we couldn't compete in that marketplace.
I think we have to recognize there is consolidation in the industry. We have to take a look at how we can make sure we get our fair share, because the processing is concentrated. I don't think that's all going to change.
What do we do to deal with that? I think we do some of this domestic marketing, getting small local slaughter plants, additional marketing initiatives to address that.
You mentioned as well some of the SPS barriers we have, whether it's hormones or vet standards. I think we have to be very wary of going down the road and starting to address these standards outside a scientifically based approach, because all of a sudden you could have different rules that every country could put in place and you'd have a set of standards for going into Europe, into Asia, going someplace else. That's why it's incredibly important to make sure your bilaterals and WTO look at getting consistency in that.
From a producer's perspective, the reason this is important is that there's only a certain price for that product at the bottom line, and if extra costs are incurred in meeting these different standards, it's going to get driven down to the producer's level. So I think we have to continue to make sure we stay on that science-based approach.
The one thing I would caution, though, is the assumption there's widespread antibiotic use in the industry. I think a lot of people are throwing that out there. The reality is that with the production systems we have today and the cost of treating animals that have to be treated, there's more of a concentration on treating the animals that are sick, but it's not as if you just throw antibiotics at them and use that as a tool. That's not the case in today's sector.