A livestock economist says the chances of Congress passing cattle market legislation by the end of the year are dwindling.
University of Missouri’s Scott Brown says there is a lot to be done by the end of the year. “Finding time to work on this particular issue might also be difficult just given everything that is on the plate,” he says.
He tells Brownfield reauthorizing Livestock Mandatory Reporting needs to take priority, especially as the cattle industry looks for increased price discovery. “We need to report prices to have any indication of whether to think there’s reasonable price discovery or not,” he says. “Even if we cash trade more cattle, but we don’t have all of the same information available to us, one might wonder if we’re better off or worse off.”
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he wants his compromise legislation, the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act, to be a part of Livestock Mandatory Reporting reauthorization.
