WASHINGTON, D.C. – Beef packers in the U.S. have long been able to hold ownership interest, finance or participate in the management or operations of independent cattle ranchers.
But livestock auction markets, where many cattle are sold, have been unable to participate in the beef packing business.
Until now.
A bill that would allow livestock auction markets to hold an ownership interest in, finance, or participate in the management or operation of a packing facility that has a slaughter capacity of less than 2,000 animals per day or 700,000 animals per year was introduced in Congress last week.
The Amplifying Processing of Livestock in the United States Act, or the A-PLUS Act is meant to replace a regulation that dates back to terminal livestock markets in the 1900s when there was little separation between buying and selling agents.
According to Chelsea Good with the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) additional slaughter capacity is needed and the A-PLUS Act will help spur expansion. She tells Brownfield News that adding processing capacity, additional investment, competition, and providing people the opportunity to have some resilient supply chains and some local food options, is part of “modernizing the industry.”
LMA President Larry Schnell said, “This is a great bill that will spur additional capacity and especially additional packers to increase competition and improve profitability for producers.”
United State Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) President Brooke Miller supports the bill.
“The Packers & Stockyards Act is over 100 years old – it’s time to modernize parts of this historic legislation that no longer make sense in the modern world.
“Today’s livestock auctions are often family-owned and regionally based. If one of these entities wanted to invest in a local processing facility to increase processing capacity for producers in their area, there shouldn’t be an outdated regulation holding them back from doing so. It’s a commonsense regulatory fix.”
Another supporter of the A-PLUS Act is the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). “The meatpacking sector continues to be the bottleneck in the cattle and beef supply chain,” said NCBA Senior Director of Government Affairs Tanner Beymer. “Opening more small and medium-sized processing facilities increases opportunities for producers to market their cattle and helps balance leverage in pricing negotiations.”
Clint Berry, chairman of the NDBA’s Livestock Marketing Council, added, “Huge amounts of capital are required to get new facilities up and running. The A-PLUS Act paves the way for the marketing segment of the cattle industry to be included as investors in these facilities, helping reduce dependence on major packers and improving the competitiveness of the live cattle market.
The bill was introduced by Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler of Missouri (R) and Representative Jimmy Panetta of California (D). Good says Representatives Randy Feenstra of Iowa (R) and Dusty Johnson of South Dakota (R) have also requested to co-sponsor the bill
Read the Amplifying Processing of Livestock in the United States Act here.
