Legislators Propose Measures to Increase Cattle Market Transparency

To provide cattleman with increased visibility and leverage in the cattle market, the U.S. House Ag Committee unanimously passed the “Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021”. Now moving on to the full Senate, this bill would amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, establishing a library of contracts for the Agricultural Marketing Service to report marketing agreements between packers and producers. This will allow cattle producers to make more informed decisions when it comes to negotiating with meatpackers. The bipartisan legislation comes after producer-led requests for more transparency in the cattle market. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association supports the legislation and has long advocated for further transparency measures like it. Read more on the Cattle Contract Library legislation.