WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) participated in an Agriculture Committee hearing on “Price Discrepancies, Transparency, and Alleged Unfair Practices in Cattle Markets.” Johnson’s Butcher Block Act and Cattle Contract Library Act were highlighted throughout the hearing as strong solutions to the processing capacity and transparency issues producers face today.
Johnson questioned witnesses on areas of consensus amongst cattle groups and called for the full release of the investigation into the potential violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act. The witness echoed that request.
“The laws are in the books; we just need to make sure enforcement is occurring,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Don Schiefelbein. “Knowledge is also power – if we knew what was occurring and why it occurred it would be so helpful to my membership. Our lives depend on fair markets, how come we can’t get answers on what has transpired and where we are today?
“Silence is not good for the producer,” said Johnson. “Let’s set this information free.”
Johnson also questioned the CEOs of the four largest meat packing companies on concentration within the market and whether or not packers were prepared for the next black swan event, following disruption in the market due to events like the COVID-19 pandemic and the Tyson Holcomb fire.
“Between 85 and 90% of the beef processing in this country is done at just 30 plants – in fact, 12 plants do more than half of all the beef processing,” said Johnson. “That seems like a lot of vulnerability. We don’t know when, but we know another black swan event is coming. Tightness keeps us exposed to unforeseen disruption and that creates a lot of vulnerability to the American cattle producer. What do we do about it?”
Johnson highlighted that the concentration in the cattle market poses a significant risk to food security in our nation.
