R-CALF USA Pushes for Market Restructuring

Two Senate bills regarding cattle industry structure have been reintroduced into the Senate this year and are expected to pass but they don't change the structure of the marketplace, which continues to be a problem in the cattle industry. According to R-CALF, USA CEO Bill Bullard.

“They are the special investigator billed in the cattle price discovery and transparency bill. Now the problem with both these bills, and we've made it clear since the moment they were first introduced is they don't change how the market functions. Both bills delegate Congress's lawmaking authority to some official or officials in the US Department of Agriculture. But very importantly, neither bill changes the structure of the marketplace. Meaning if there is a problem with the structure of the marketplace today, then that problem will persist long after these two bills are passed with the

2023 farm bill up for discussion.”

Bullard says Congress needs to reverse market failure in the cattle industry. He points out that last year, prices paid by consumers for beef increased while prices paid to producers decreased. Now when you see a drastic increase in consumer prices, combined with a drastic decrease in the allocation of that price to producers then you know, there's market failure.”

He says in order to reverse the market failure there must be competition for both cattle producers and consumers. Our Calf -USA recommends country of origin labeling, requiring packers to compete for at least half of their weekly cattle needs in the cattle market, and prohibit alternative marketing arrangements that do not have a firm base price at the time of the transaction.