WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA), National Farmers Union and 11 other organizations are calling for a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on reauthorization of the Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act.
The current rule expires at the end of September and the groups say it presents an opportunity to “make meaningful change to the program to increase transparency and true price discovery”.
There have been numerous calls for investigating the beef market chain in the last 10 months, beginning with a severe market disruption due to a packing plant fire in Kansas. No information has come from that USDA investigation that was followed by an even more severe disruption due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to the USDA investigation, cattlemen have called on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch its own investigation.
Legislation has also been proposed, as part of the reauthorization of Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act renewal legislation, to force each major packing plant to buy a minimum of 30% of its cattle needs via negotiated cash purchases and take delivery within a 14-day period.
The groups, in a letter to the committee, request that “all available solutions” be considered to address depressed livestock prices and increased consolidation in the cattle industry. They warn that time is running out to develop an effective reauthorization of the program.
Organizations signing on to the letter include: Independent Beef Association of North Dakota, Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Nebraska, Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas, Kansas Cattlemen’s Association, Marias River Livestock Association, Montana Cattlemen’s Association, Montana Farmers Union, National Farmers Union, North Dakota Farmers Union, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, South Dakota Farmers Union, Women Involved in Farm Economics and USCA.
