A proposed bill that would create a contract library for the beef industry will be considered by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee on Thursday, Oct. 21.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota and Rep. Henry Cuellar from Texas. It is co-sponsored with 16 other House members.
The bill would establish a library of contracts for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to report terms of alternative marketing agreements between packers and producers, equipping ranchers with the market data needed to make informed marketing and business decisions. The USDA library would provide producers with key details on cattle contracts, including the type and duration. A similar library currently exists for the pork sector.
The bipartisan legislation, Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021 (HR 5609), would also require publishing the total number of cattle solely committed to the packer each week within the six-month and 12-month period following the date of the contract by reporting region.
In the case of a contract in which a specific number of cattle are not solely committed to the packer, an indication that the contract is an open commitment and any weekly, monthly, annual or other limitations on the number of cattle that may be delivered to the packer under the contract must be reported.
Texas Farm Bureau, the American Farm Bureau Federation and several other cattle and agricultural organizations support the legislation. It is also widely supported by both Republican and Democrat lawmakers.
The contract library was on a list of requested items that representatives of livestock and agricultural organizations developed earlier this year.
“Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked hard to ensure the success of the agriculture industry—one that is a critical facet of our nation’s economy. The bipartisan Cattle Contract Library Act will further this agenda through the creation of a contract library that will provide cost transparency in the cattle market,” Cuellar said. “We must support all of our cattle businesses, including our small producers, who are indispensable for our country’s food supply chain. I thank Rep. Johnson for his leadership on this critical legislation for Texas farmers, ranchers and the agriculture industry as a whole.”
Read more about the bill in this document.
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