[imgbelt img=28clonedcows.span_.jpg] The USDA Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration has extended the comment period on proposed regulations the agency issued in June. The regulations covered a host of marketing activities in the livestock industry. (See story here.) The regulations are controversial. Last week, a House subcommittee strongly urged USDA officials to extend the comment period on the new rules. GIPSA announced today that it would extend the comment period 90 days, until November 22, 2010.The regulations are opposed by meat packers and several large farm organizations. The American Farm Bureau, for example, said it was “pleased” that the comment period was extended. Livestock producer groups, meanwhile, issued statements in support of the GIPSA regulations.”The swift and decisive political pressure exerted on Congress and USDA by the meatpacker lobby, and the misinformation they spread to achieve their desired outcome should be a wake-up call for every U.S. livestock producer and consumer,” wrote Bob Bullard of R-CALF USAGIPSA, meanwhile, has issued a three-page document citing certain “misconceptions” about the new rules.