Lucas’ Cattle Contract Library Act Passes House

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December 10, 2021

By News Director Jared Atha

The first step in ensuring more transparency in the cattle market for producers was taken this week with the U.S. House of Representatives passing H.R. 5609 – the Cattle Contract Library Act. Introduced by Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Cheyenne’s Frank Lucas (R-OK), the bipartisan bill would direct the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service to establish a contract library for cattle producers that would ensure the transparency.

In a press release, Congressman Lucas praised the passage saying in part “In order to guarantee greater competition, price discovery, and transparency, producers must be able to leverage marketing data while negotiating the price of cattle – and the Cattle Contract Library Act does just that.”. Lucas went on to say that “the Cattle Contract Library Act, will help America’s cattlemen and women better negotiate higher prices for their cattle.”.

Currently, USDA maintains a pork contract library, and following significant volatility in the cattle market and the release of the July 2020 Boxed Beef & Fed Cattle Price Spread Investigation Report, the creation of a cattle contract library was recommended by experts and stakeholders.

Since 2019, Lucas has joined in introducing a number of legislative priorities for producers, including the PRICE Act and the RAMP-UP Act, which supported transparency in the cattle market and helped increase capacity for small and medium-sized meat processors.

The Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021 is supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation, Cattlemen’s Beef Association, U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, National Farmers Union, Livestock Marketing Association, and the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association.

The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

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