NCBA welcomes discussion on Cattle Market Transparency Act
https://www.nationalbeefwire.com/ncba-welcomes-discussion-on-cattle-market-transparency-act
- On Tuesday, Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced the Cattle Market Transparency Act in the U.S. Senate, a bill that would direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Office of the Chief Economist at the USDA to establish regional mandatory minimums for negotiated trade of fed cattle.
- Additionally, the bill would direct USDA to establish a library of cattle formula contracts, amend the definition of “cattle committed” to expand the delivery window from 7 to 14 days and clarify confidentiality rules for administering Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR).
- According to Ethan Lane, NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs, NCBA shares Senator Fischer’s objectives, along with its affiliates and the entire industry.
- However, how the industry goes about achieving these objectives is a hotly debated topic by cattle producers across the nation, stated Lane.
- NCBA has worked and continues to work alongside their affiliates, Congress and USDA toward regionally robust negotiated trade, the establishment of a cattle contract library and commonsense in USDA’s rules of confidentiality by taking direction from their membership through the grassroots policy process, said Lane.
- In a statement released on Tuesday, NCBA reported that they have been at the forefront of the conversation regarding the decline of negotiated trades in the fed cattle complex since the issue first arose.
- The organization’s top priority is to put more of the beef dollar in cattle producers’ pockets.
- In July of 2020, at NCBA’s 2020 Summer Business meeting, the largest cattle organization in the U.S. decided to take a voluntary approach to achieve robust price discovery within the cattle industry.
- This voluntary framework is now two months into the implementation phase.
- The entire industry relies on NCBA’s grassroots policy process to provide a tried-and-true venue to work together on complex issues toward common goals, according to NCBA. Everyone has a seat at the table, and all are welcome to join.
American Farm Bureau voices support for cattle market transparency
- According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the Cattle Market Transparency Act sponsored by Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) aligns with the goals set forth by the AFBF Cattle Market Working Group in 2020, as well as new cattle marketing policy passed at Farm Bureau’s Virtual Annual Convention earlier this year.
- AFBF President Zippy Duvall stated that this legislation will ensure farmers and ranchers have fair access to markets and are fully informed on pricing so they can continue to put food on the tables in homes across the nation.
Seven percent of U.S. dairies shuttered in 2020
- According to USDA, more than 2,500 dairy farms stopped milking in 2020, a drop of 7 percent nationwide.
- Wisconsin saw 610 farms exit the business, Minnesota 380, Pennsylvania 300 and New York 240.
- Thirteen states including Minnesota, Ohio and Michigan lost more than 10 percent of their dairies.
- In 2020, the U.S. produced 223 billion pounds of milk, a 2.2 percent increase from 2019.
Boxed beef prices
- Choice boxed beef: $$233.03 (-1.65)
- Select boxed beef: $224.24 (-1.93)