Wyden, Others Reintroduce Cattle Market Reform Bill 

A bipartisan group of senators, including Ron Wyden, reintroduced the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act of 2023.  In addition to Oregon's senior senator, Montana’s Jon Tester, and Republicans Chuck Grassley and Deb Fischer rolled out the legislation.  The lawmakers say the legislation would restore transparency and accountability in the cattle market by establishing regional cash minimums and equipping producers with more market information, including permanently authorizing a cattle contract library.

"Family farmers and ranchers in Oregon are working hard to make a living and produce quality meat to feed families across America and the world. Yet, right now the system is working against them and is rigged in favor of big corporations. The cattle market desperately needs reform to level the playing field and give family farmers and ranchers a fair shot,” said Wyden.

"It's past time for Congress to stand with independent cattle producers and put an end to the cozy relationship between large meat packers and big cattle feedlots," Grassley said.

The legislation requires the creation of 5-7 regions encompassing the entire continental U.S., and then establish minimum levels of fed cattle purchases made through an approved pricing mechanism.  The bill would also establish a maximum penalty for covered packers of $90,000 for mandatory minimum violations.  The legislation also creates a publicly available library of marketing contracts.

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