From concerns about broadband to rural jobs and health care, there are dozens of different topics that come up on a daily basis in Sen. Roger Marshall’s office. However, in recent months, the calls from his Kansas constituents about cattle markets have been topping the list.
“My phone is blowing up with concerns over price divergence issues in the meat industry,” he told me during a recent interview in his Capitol Hill office.
“The people I grew up with are fifth-, sixth-, seventh-generation ranchers—people that I’ve known for my whole life—and other folks, acquaintances that I’ve known for 10 or 20 years, are just screaming concern that they can’t make a living,” he added. “These ranchers are sharp business people. They’re not heavily leveraged, and they’ve always done it right. So, if these folks can’t make a living doing it, then no one can.
It’s the same situation in Mississippi for Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith.
“We’re hearing from all of our producers about the…
