USCA, NFU, and Others Request Hearing on Livestock Reporting Rule
(WASHINGTON)
- On Wednesday, the United States Cattlemen's Association (USCA),
National Farmers Union (NFU), and eleven other organizations sent a letter to the Senate Agriculture Committee requesting a hearing on livestock mandatory price reporting reauthorization.
The Livestock Mandatory Reporting rule,
established in 1999, mandates price reporting for cattle, boxed beef
swine, and lamb. It is reauthorized every five years, with the current
program expiring on September 30, 2020. This year represents an
opportunity to make meaningful change to the program to increase
transparency and true price discovery.
According to a 2019 Congressional Research Service report, "A
common concern among stakeholders is the low volume of negotiated
purchases and a parallel trend toward increased formula purchases or
other marketing arrangements.
"Other concerns are about confidentiality and a lack of clarity on how
transactions are categorized in reports, with some stakeholders
advocating for the inclusion of more details about transactions, such as
premium levels—especially as the market changes—and reporting on the
number of livestock committed to packers."
USCA
and others strongly urge the Senate Agriculture Committee to examine
all available solutions to the current market factors depressing
livestock prices and the increasing consolidation facing the U.S. cattle
industry. As stated in our letter, we are running out of time to work
towards a tenable reauthorization of the program. The U.S.
livestock industry requires bold leadership to realign the marketplace
with its fundamentals, and that starts with modernizing the Livestock
Mandatory Reporting program.
Organizations signing-on to the letter include: Independent
Beef Association of North Dakota, Independent Cattlemen’s Association
of Nebraska, Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas, Kansas
Cattlemen’s Association, Marias River Livestock Association, Montana
Cattlemen’s Association, Montana Farmers Union, National Farmers Union,
North Dakota Farmers Union, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, South Dakota
Farmers Union, and Women Involved in Farm Economics.