Agricultural News
Recent USDA Report On Boxed Beef And Fed Cattle Price Spread Investigation To Be Discussed Wednesday Morning At NCBA Summer Meeting In Denver
Tue, 28 Jul 2020 14:51:55 CDT
The recent USDA report on boxed beef and fed cattle price spread investigation will be a hot topic Wednesday morning during the live cattle marketing meeting at the NCBA summer meeting in Denver, Colo. Tanner Beymer NCBA, director of government affairs and market regulatory policy visited with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays about that topic.
The USDA report went into more detail about some of the things than what we already knew, Beymer said.
What we saw in that report is what we expected out of USDA, he said.
Beymer said there was no mention of any violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act or the Department of Justice investigation, but we also looked at some the policy recommendations made by the USDA in that report.
Some of that (recommendations) will be discussed in the live cattle marketing committee meeting beginning at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, he said.
One of the things the report identified is providing resources to small and very small meat processors and Beymer said.
Beymer said the NCBA is asking how the group can help in this packer capacity issue. The NCBA has started working with Congress on the RAMP UP Act co-introduced by U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-3) and House Agriculture Committee
Chairman Collin Peterson (MN-07) to provide money for meat inspectors for small and medium size plants.
Beymer remains noncommitted on guaranteeing the legislation will pass this year, however he is optimistic something will happen.
Without making predictions if we can get this finished but the appetite is very strong to do something as many members in Congress are hearing from the country about how difficult things have been for producers, Beymer said.
The USDA report also identified the need for more risk management education tools to help producers learn about all the resources available to help manage risks.
Beymer said the NCBA is working with the USDA to aid in the process of education in risk management.
Another vital issue to be discussed in the Wednesday morning committee meeting is price discovery.
This issue of price discovery is not new and is constantly talked about, but we moved it to the front burner after the Kansas plant fire and the Covid pandemic impact, Beymer said.
For the past several months the live cattle committee working group has been meeting weekly and you will see a full report of what that committee has been working on in that Wednesday morning meeting.
Beymer added they want to increase negotiated trade that benefits everyone, and the working group will present some ideas during the Wednesday meeting.
He added the NCBA staff will be ready to hit the ground running when they get back to D.C. following the Denver meeting.
You can hear more of Ron's interview with Tanner Beymer by clicking on the listen bar below.
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