WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and several colleagues today
introduced
legislation to return fairness to the cattle marketplace dominated by four
major meat packers. Last
week, the authors
announced
the framework of this legislation.
“I frequently hear from Iowa’s independent cattle producers about their
struggle to get a fair price for their cattle while the nation’s four largest
packers operate in the shadows. I pushed for hearings in the Senate’s
Agriculture and Judiciary committees to shine a light on the market unfairness
and now have partnered with a bipartisan group of senators to develop a
solution. Our proposal takes several steps to improve cattle price transparency
and will make much-needed market reforms to help independent producers in Iowa
and across the country,” Grassley said. “This bipartisan bill is the
best opportunity we have to make real reform in the cattle market this year and
I’ll continue to work with my colleagues to get this across the finish line.”
“While retail meat prices continue to
rise, many of Iowa’s independent cattle producers who participate in the
negotiated cash market are facing challenges and taking losses because they
unfairly shoulder the burden of price discovery for cattle producers in other
states and regions,” Ernst said.
“I’m proud to support Senator Grassley and his bipartisan effort to create a
more transparent, fair process and allow our independent, hardworking cattle
producers in Iowa and across the country to get the best and most competitive
prices for the high quality cattle they raise.”
The
Cattle
Price Discovery and Transparency Act is authored by Grassley along with
Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and along
with Ernst, is also supported by Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Tina Smith
(D-Minn.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Bill Cassidy
(R-La.) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.).
The Cattle
Price Discovery and Transparency Act will:
1. Establish regional mandatory minimum
thresholds of negotiated cash and negotiated grid trades based on each region’s
18-month average trade to enable price discovery in cattle marketing regions.
In order to establish regionally sufficient levels of negotiated cash and
negotiated grid trade, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the
Chief Economist, would seek public comment on those levels, set the minimums,
and then implement them. No regional minimum level can be more than three times
that of the lowest regional minimum, and no regional minimum can be lower than
the 18-month average trade at the time the bill is enacted.
2. Require the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) to create and maintain a publicly available library of
marketing contracts between packers and producers in a manner that ensures
confidentiality.
3. Prohibit the USDA from using
confidentiality as a justification for not reporting and make clear that USDA
must report all Livestock Mandatory Reporting information, and they must do so
in a manner that ensures confidentiality.
4. Require more
timely reporting of cattle carcass weights as well as requiring a packer to
report the
number of cattle scheduled to be delivered for slaughter each day for the next
14 days.
This
is part of Grassley’s
ongoing effort to return
fairness to the cattle marketplace. Earlier this year, Grassley called on the Senate’s
Agriculture
and
Judiciary
committees to hold hearings to address anticompetitive practices in the
livestock industry. Most recently, he introduced
bipartisan
legislation to create the “Office of the Special Investigator for
Competition Matters” within the USDA’s Packers and Stockyards Division. Grassley
also led efforts to combat corporate consolidation and protect the livelihood
of family famers. He joined a
bipartisan
group of colleagues in demanding the Department of Justice investigate
whether the control large meatpackers have over the beef processing market
violates U.S. antitrust laws and principles of fair competition.
The bill is backed by the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association,
Iowa Farm Bureau, American Farm Bureau, U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, National
Farmers Union, and National
Grange.
A one-pager summary of the bill is
available
HERE. A section-by-section summary
is available
HERE.