FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2022
Contact: Lyndsey Medsker
Lmedsker@nfudc.org, (202) 557-5328
WASHINGTON – Today, 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. As with the 2021 version, 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.
“NFU thanks Senators Tester, Grassley, Fischer, and Wyden for their continued leadership on this issue. The bill improves upon the version from November 2021, and we encourage swift action by the Senate and House on this legislation.”
The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2022 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.
Further details about the bill from the cosponsors are available here. The full text of the bill is available here.
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National Farmers Union advocates on behalf of nearly 200,000 American farm families and their communities. We envision a world in which farm families and their communities are respected, valued, and enjoy economic prosperity and social justice.
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