WASHINGTON – Today, Sens. Deb Fischer (R-IA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Jon Tester (D-MT), along with 18 other cosponsors, reintroduced the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act, a bill that would bring greater fairness to the cattle sector.
“Family farmers and ranchers need open and transparent cattle markets in order to receive fair prices,” said NFU President Rob Larew. “We must preserve and promote the cash market as a competitive option. The reintroduction of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act is another important step in Farmers Union’s efforts to seek more transparency and fairness in cattle markets.”
NFU was proud to support the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act in the 117th Congress and is in strong support of this legislation once again in the 118th Congress. With today’s introduction, the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2023 has 22 original cosponsors, which is an increase from the version introduced in 2022.
Larew added, “I want to thank Sens. Fischer, Wyden, Grassley, Tester and the cosponsors for keeping up this fight. The increased support for this bill is clear evidence that momentum is building for legislation that ensures Fairness for Farmers.”
The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2023 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.
- Requiring livestock mandatory reporting data be made consistently available.
As part of the Fairness for Farmers campaign, NFU is pushing for more transparency in agricultural markets, especially in the highly consolidated cattle sector where just four companies control 85% of the market.
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