News

Omnibus Appropriations package funds pilot Cattle Contract Library program

Funding for a Cattle Contract Library pilot program was included in the Omnibus Appropriations package passed by the Senate last week. 

Tanner Beymer with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says this is the first actionable item that’s made it through the legislative process.  “Our ultimate goal here is to give more information to cattle producers,” he says.  “Regardless of what segment of the industry that they operate in information is power. Particularly when you’re going into a pricing negotiation for cattle.”

He tells Brownfield there’s a key difference between the proposed Cattle Contract Library and the current Swine Contract Library. “This cattle contract library is specifically directed to the Livestock, Grain and Poultry market news division in AMS at USDA,” he says.

Beymer says the information should bring greater transparency to the markets, but it also subjects the information to USDA’s rules for confidentiality.  “Because we want to make sure that we’re protecting everybody’s proprietary business information,” he says.  “And at the same time that we’re providing a level of transparency to the marketplace to allow cattle producers to see in real-time, what traits in the cattle and in the carcass that are being incentivized by the packers.”

The North American Meat Institute calls the law vague.  CEO Julie Anna Potts says there is no opportunity for companies to provide valuable perspectives on what information should be included or how it should be reported.  Under the pilot, Potts claims Meat Institute members who purchase cattle with an Alternative Marketing Arrangement (AMA) will be legally obligated to report proprietary and sensitive data to the government for publication. 

The Omnibus Appropriations package also includes: the Electronic Logging Device exemption for livestock haulers, EPA regulatory relief, and an extension of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting program. 

AUDIO: Tanner Beymer, NCBA