Some ranchers and farm groups are urging the Senate to amend legislation meant to bring transparency to cattle markets, saying it doesn’t go far enough to deal with industry consolidation.
The bipartisan bill, dubbed the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act (S. 4030), would divide the country into regions and task the U.S. Agriculture Department with deciding, for each one, the minimum share of cattle that a packer must purchase through the cash market. The industry is dominated by four large meatpackers, with a growing gap between the price consumers pay for beef and the price ranchers get.
Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), the measure’s sponsor, and supporters are banking on it to help producers get a fair price for their cattle. They say the mandatory minimum for cattle purchased through the cash market, rather than other negotiations, will ensure that ranchers are getting the price they deserve.
The legislation hits a “sweet spot,” Fischer said at a hearing last month. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry should consider the legislation in a few weeks, Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said in an interview.
Cattle producers express skepticism, saying Fischer’s bill is too weak to do anything. An outside researcher says it could make their situation worse. The comments raise questions of how Congress can help ranchers whose numbers are dwindling to the tune of 40 family cattle farms a day, out of the roughly 700,000 such farms in…
