Special Report

Field chief outlines updates to mandatory price reporting

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Services is implementing changes to its mandatory price reporting.

Taylor Cox with AMS says they have been surveying industry stakeholders to see where updates to the system need to be made.

He says pork producers have expressed concern about the current percentage of negotiated hogs and would like to see that number increase.  “They like the transparency the negotiated market brings to them,” he says.  “They are uses of the negotiated market for their formulas for their base prices.  That is one of the more immediate changes.  We’re going to take a few of those formula traded hogs under the current language that will fall under the negotiated category.”

Cox says they will continue to analyze industry feedback and over time implement additional changes.

Livestock Mandatory Reporting was created more than 16 years ago to provide transparent and comparable market information for all producers.

He tells Brownfield AMS has been reporting prices for 16 years – and it’s important for the system to adapt to changes within the industry – like the Fed Cattle Exchange.  “It’s a new marketing platform where they sell cattle through an electronic portal,” he says.  “Those sales are included in our mandatory reporting series on our cattle reports.  That’s an example of how technology has changed and AMS has adapted.”

The Livestock Mandatory Reporting was reauthorized in 2015 and will be up for reauthorization again in 2020.

He says if producers have suggestions or comments on how to improve the AMS’s Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting – to submit comments online.

Brownfield spoke to Cox at the recent World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa.

AUDIO: Taylor Cox, Field Chief – USDA AMS

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!