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Cattle market compromise bill aims to improve transparency

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa says cattle producers across the country are counting on Congress to make real reforms to the cattle market.

He says the bipartisan compromise bill announced earlier this week will help increase competition in the cattle markets.  “All regions will need to participate in price discovery,” he says.  “So we get more accurate information on what the prices is on a particular day.”

Grassley says the next month will be critical.  “As we talk to leadership committees in both the US House and Senate to get bill included in the reauthorization of the Livestock Market Reporting legislation.”

The North American Meat Institute says there has been no economic analysis of the bill’s effects offered to support the legislation and it would replace the free market with government mandates, harming livestock producers.

Oklahoma State University livestock economist Derrell Peel says a study released earlier this year showed government intervention would have unintended consequences.  “Our analysis shows that while we should be concerned, and we should continue to monitor the cash trade levels, we don’t think there is a price discovery problem at this point in time,” he says.  “From that standpoint, we probably don’t need a solution to a problem we don’t have yet.”

AUDIO: Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University

The bipartisan compromise bill was introduced by Republican Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Democrats Jon Tester of Montana and Ron Wyden of Oregon.   

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