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Iowa cattle producers want increased market transparency

Iowa cattle producers are discussing ways to improve cattle market transparency and price discovery. 

The Iowa Cattlemen’s organization, in response to recent volatility in the cattle markets, is holding a series of listening sessions for producers. One of the areas they’re looking at is mandatory price reporting, says ICA president David Trowbridge .

“To maybe change what’s reported, how it’s reported, the types of cattle reported,” Trowbridge says. “There are some interesting things we can do there that I think will start a movement towards that.”

Trowbridge says ICA would also like to see an increase in cash negotiated trade. That’s long been a sore spot for Iowa producers. A few years ago, the group brought forward a resolution calling for 50 percent cash negotiated trade across all major cattle feeding regions. That resolution was defeated at the NCBA annual meeting, but remains part of ICA policy.

“The less negotiated trade, the less transparency there is in the market–and at some point in time you lose the really true value of the cattle because you don’t have enough established negotiated price,” Trowbridge says. “We’re not near that now, but it’s declining every year–and in tough times like this, it declines faster.”

While Trowbridge is hopeful something will change, he’s also realistic.

“We have a great tendency as cattle producers to forget about it. When things are good, we all go forward—and then we end up in these bad markets again.”

Trowbridge manages Gregory Feedlots, a 7,000 head commercial feedlot near Tabor, Iowa. He spoke with Brownfield at an ICA listening session in Atlantic.