Hartzler Introduces Cattle Market Transparency Act of 2020

Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-04) introduced today the Cattle Market Transparency Act of 2020. The bill, serving as the companion bill to S.4647 introduced by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), enables mechanisms for greater price discovery and transparency within the cattle market, while equipping producers with more tools and useful information to succeed.

“External market disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have caused additional strain on our producers, particularly those within the cattle industry. Producers have made it clear that we must address declining participation in the negotiated cash market to bolster price discovery and we must ensure our producers are equipped with the necessary resources to compete fairly in the cattle market. I thank Sen. Fischer for moving this legislation forward in the Senate and urge my colleagues in the House to join our efforts to bring more transparency to the cattle market,” Hartzler said.

Specifically, this legislation:

* Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create and maintain a library of marketing contracts between packers and producers,

* Mandates that a packer report the number of cattle scheduled to be delivered for slaughter each day for the next 14 days, which is already required for the swine industry,

* Bolsters the public availability of data collected through the Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting Act while reassuring confidentiality of individuals and propriety business information, and,

* Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish regionally sufficient levels of negotiated cash trade and to consider stakeholder input through a public comment period.

Missouri Cattlemen’s Association President Marvin Dieckman also echoed support for Hartzler’s legislation, saying the bill works to bolster opportunities for all producers within the industry.

“Congresswoman Hartzler’s legislation, which is the House companion to Senator Deb Fischer’s bill, gets us closer to where we need to be to achieve robust price discovery and to ensure market transparency. This legislation does so in a methodical way without a one-size fits all, heavy handed approach. The Missouri Cattlemen’s Association has been laser focused on ensuring the markets work in such a way that all segments in the industry have the opportunity to be profitable. Congresswoman Hartzler gets it,” Missouri Cattlemen’s Association President Marvin Dieckman said.

Bill text can be found at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1itOc8eSNckyJf1bwLJvZGt5KexHOmoPY/view.

For further information, contact Danny Jativa in the Washington, D.C. office at 202-225-2876 or at danny.jativa@mail.house.gov.