News

Work continues to improve transparency in cattle markets

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the USDA continues its efforts to improve transparency in the cattle markets.

USDA’s Ag Marketing Service recently began collecting data for its cattle contract library program. Vilsack says the goal is to make the information available to producers as quickly as possible. “We made a request to do this on a voluntary basis, most but not all, were willing to participate in a voluntary program,” he says. “So as a result, we had to go a different route and that takes a little time to get it done.”

He tells Brownfield the department is also addressing competition in the cattle markets. “We’re also continuing to work on our Packers & Stockyards rules for greater transparency and balance between farmers and the markets that they serve,” he says. 

Vilsack made his comments during a recent news conference at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico.