Agricultural News
NFU Supports Revised Cattle Market Legislation
Thu, 31 Mar 2022 10:40:19 CDT
On Monday, the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2022 was publicly released, led by Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). The bill is a revised version of similar legislation introduced last year.
National Farmers Union (NFU) supports the bill and urges Congress to act quickly to pass this critically important legislation.
"Rampant consolidation in the cattle industry has made pricing in the cattle market increasingly opaque," said NFU President Rob Larew. "Fair and competitive markets rely on price discovery and transparency. For farmers and ranchers to bargain effectively with packers, they need access to reliable, accurate pricing information. This bill would shed light on the market and bring about greater fairness."
The act makes important reforms, including:
· Establishing mandatory minimum purchase volumes for packers through "approved pricing mechanisms" based on five to seven geographic regions, to be determined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
· Bringing more transparency by requiring reporting of cattle weights and slaughter deliveries two weeks in advance.
· Clarifying and implementing a cattle contract library.
· Increasing penalties for violations by packers.
Further details about the bill from the cosponsors are available here The full text of the bill is available here
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