NCBA Responds to Proposed 50/14 Bill
On Wednesday, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Policy Division Chair and South Dakota Rancher Todd Wilkinson issued a statement in response to a proposed bill to regulate spot cattle trades. Introduced Tuesday by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the bill would require a minimum of 50% of a meat packer’s volume of beef slaughter to be purchased on the cash market.
"Currently, cattle producers utilize a multitude of methods to market their livestock, including the cash market. Increased price discovery will benefit all segments of the cattle industry — that is why NCBA has been closely working with key stakeholders, industry experts, and our partners in academia to develop tangible means to meet that end,” Wilkinson said.
“Any solution must not restrict an individual producer’s freedom to pursue marketing avenues that they determine best suit their business’ unique needs. Government mandates, like that being proposed by Senator Grassley, would arbitrarily force many cattle producers to change the way they do business. We will continue to work toward a more equitable solution and invite Senator Grassley, and other lawmakers interested in this conversation, to join us in the search for an industry-led solution based in free market principles."
Grassley and Tester’s bill would require “large-scale meatpackers to increase the proportion of negotiable transactions that are cash, or ‘spot,’ to 50% of their total cattle purchases.” It mandates each U.S. meat processing facility that slaughters over 125,000 head of cattle each year to purchase 50% of their weekly volume of cattle in the open or spot market.
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Senate Bill Would Require 50% Negotiated Trade
