The USDA announced in early August that two new reports, published in USDA Market News and based on Livestock Mandatory Reporting data, will provide additional insight into formula cattle trades and help promote fair and competitive markets.

Today, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) led a letter with the support of 37 affiliate state cattle organizations, urging the leadership of the U.S. Senate and House Agriculture Committees to address critical areas of concern in the cattle and beef industry.

Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) recently introduced the Cattle Market Transparency Act of 2021 in the Senate. Fischer, a member of the Senate Ag Committee, first introduced this legislation in 2020.

On Feb. 7, 2021, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, filed the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act.

Price transparency has been a hotly debated topic in the beef industry for years. With the recent market volatility due to the spread of COVID-19, the disparity between cattle prices and beef prices has been garnering the attention of lawmakers, resulting in an investigation into the cattle markets. 

Montana-based news outlet Western Ag Reporter (WAR) launched a week-long Twitter campaign Sept. 23, urging producers to take to social media in an effort to enlist President Trump’s aid in bringing balance back to the cattle markets. 

The Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF) organization, along with four cattle-feeding ranchers from Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Wyoming, launched a class action lawsuit last week against four major U.S. packing companies: Tyson Foods Inc., Cargill Inc., National Beef Packing Company LLC and the U.S. branch of Brazil-based packer JBS S.A. Together, the four companies control over 80 percent of the market for U.S. fed cattle.