Grassley said the increase was needed because the U.S. Department of Agriculture had underestimated by more than a million dollars the cost of running the mandatory price reporting program. Today's action brings the total level of funding to $6 million for the this fiscal year. The money was included in a military spending bill.
"I worked to create the price reporting program to help make the market more competitive and give independent producers access to information about the volatile market they've endured over the last three years," Grassley said. "Accurate and reliable market information is critical for independent operators to stay competitive. Transparency can help prevent insider deals that undercut fair competition."
The Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act sponsored by Grassley and Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota was passed last year. It requires the federal Agriculture Marketing Service to collect the market data and make it immediately available via the Internet.
The additional $1.35 million secured by Grassley for the program will be distributed as follows:
»$550,000 to the Economic Research Service to improve reports on retail purchase prices.
»$200,000 to the Foreign Agricultural Service for reports on export markets.
»$400,000 to the National Agricultural Statistics Service for reports on monthly inventories of hogs and pigs.
»$200,000 to the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration for reports on swine packer marketing contracts.