Cattle Producers Welcome House Introduction of PRICE Act

Written and Published by Southeast Ag Net radio Network

WASHINGTON (Oct. 1, 2020) – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) welcomed the introduction of bipartisan legislation to improve the marketing environment for cattle producers.

Introduced by Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD.) and bipartisan cosponsors, the Price Reform in Cattle Economics (PRICE) Act addresses several areas of critical importance for cattle producers across the United States. Included in the bill are existing legislative proposals to open new markets for state-inspected beef products, such as the Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions (DIRECT) Act, and new provisions to aid producer-owned beef processing facilities and increase transparency in fed cattle transactions.

“The Tyson fire in Holcomb, KS and the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have brought the issues of price transparency in the cattle markets and beef processing capacity to a boiling point within our industry,” said Ethan Lane, NCBA’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “This legislation is a significant step in the right direction as we continue to explore ways to support producers who have been impacted by two major black swan events, in an already volatile cattle market. We are grateful to Rep. Johnson and all the cosponsors for their bipartisan leadership in this space, and will continue working alongside them to see these reforms enacted.”

The bill is cosponsored by Reps. Mike Conaway (R-TX), Darren Soto (D-FL), Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Greg Gianforte (R-MT), David Rouzer (R-NC), Rick Crawford (R-AR), Jason Smith (R-MO), Tom Emmer (R-MN), and Jim Hagedorn (R-MN). A section-by-section analysis exploring all provisions of the bill can be accessed here.