Big Grain Companies'
Merger Drawing Nays

LINCOLN, Neb. —(AP)— Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg opposes the proposed merger of Cargill Inc. and Continental Grain Co., saying the deal would hurt farmers and consumers.

In a letter sent to the U.S. Justice Department, Stenberg said ``increased concentration in agricultural marketing and processing will mean lower prices for farmers and higher prices for consumers.''

Stenberg said there is history on the side of farmers. He noted that farm protests against large agricultural trusts in the late 1800s led to the nation's antitrust laws.

``At a minimum, a line must be drawn to prevent further anticompetitive economic concentration in agriculture,'' he said in the letter sent last week.

Stenberg said the two grain companies already are so big it is unlikely the merger will create more efficiency to help profits. He fears any increase in profits would come from increased market power to pay producers less and charge consumers more.

Oct. 12 is the deadline for filing merger objections with the Justice Department.

Cargill, based in Minnetonka, Minn., is North America's second-largest grain trader. The two companies control 42 percent of U.S. corn exports, a third of soybeans sold overseas and at least 20 percent of wheat exports.