Oklahoma Farm Bureau recently partnered with the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association to send a letter to Congress in opposition of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act and the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act.
The letter – sent to United States Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow and Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman – urged the recipients to oppose and prevent further action on both measures.
OKFB and OCA support portions of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act, but do not support the legislation in its entirety.
In the letter, OKFB and OCA stated:
The American Farm Bureau Federation’s (OKFB’s national affiliate) and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s (OCA’s national affiliate) policies generally support certain provisions of S. 4030 which benefit U.S. cattle producers, including the 14‐day cattle slaughter report, expedited carcass weights reporting, and the cattle contract library. OKFB and OCA appreciate the inclusion of these provisions.
However, our organizations remain strongly opposed to the provisions in S. 4030 in Sections 2 and 7 which are specific to the establishment of federal mandatory minimum thresholds under which certain percentages of cattle must be purchased. There is no economic evidence to show regional mandated purchases will increase prices for cow‐calf and stocker operators.
OKFB and OCA also expressed concerns with the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act, which would create an Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters as part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The two organizations felt establishing this office would be unnecessary as the USDA and Department of Justice already have jurisdiction to investigate suspicious actions.
Throughout the letter, OKFB and OCA emphasized the importance of gathering producer input during legislation development to avoid unintended consequences to the beef industry.
For questions on these measures, contact the OKFB public policy team at (405) 523-2300.
