Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, let's be honest. It has been a pretty difficult few years to be a cattle producer. People in that business understand the cyclical nature of prices, so that is not so much their beef, if you will.

But in that environment, it is much more difficult to have black swan event after black swan event hit these hardworking men and women. From

the Holcomb fire to COVID-19 disruptions, it has been an incredibly volatile marketplace. They are trying to make a living and they are trying to pay their bills in that kind of environment with less price transparency than they have ever had.

Now, it used to be relatively easy. Of course, I think we all know that price discovery is a critically important part of any fully functional marketplace. It used to be easy. You just went down to the sale barn, you sat in the seats, and you were able to see exactly what Mr. Mann was selling his cattle for and exactly what Mrs. Hartzler was buying them for.

But as we have seen a migration of sales away from the sale barn and to alternative marketing agreements, that has left our producers less prepared to understand what is going on in the marketplace.

That is why I was so grateful to see a broad cross-section of stakeholders come together in Phoenix a few months ago. They said: Gosh darn it, we are tired of having the livestock industry fight amongst each other. Let's settle on what we can agree on, things that we can actually get done in the 117th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, they came out of that meeting with a clear clarion call for what Congress can do to help. There were three majors items, but the cattle library, along with the bill we just passed, the Livestock Mandatory Reporting program, were the heart of one of the three recommendations.

What this bill does is takes the information, basic nonconfidential information, from those alternative marketing agreements and makes it available, and it makes sure that there is a mechanism for that information to be put into resources that can actually be used by the independent cattle producers and the small feeders that are so critically important to this marketplace.

This has been widely bipartisan, and this is embraced by a fantastic cross-section, from the U.S. cattlemen to NCBA to Farm Bureau to National Farmers Union to the Livestock Marketing Association, good people who have come together and understand that while this does not solve the problem, it is a critically important step in moving us in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the real leadership that Mrs. Hartzler has shown on these issues for years and thank her for that.

One of the great things about Congress is most of us were just normal people before we got here, leaders in our industry, and the next speaker is certainly that. He is somebody who understands the finance of ag operations and the operation of these farms and ranches. He is one of the strongest freshman voices in Congress.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Mann).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller), a Member who has firsthand experience with the true operation of America's farms and ranches.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, I don't know that I can say it any better than the Members of Congress here who have so much firsthand experience with working ranches and farms. This is a beautiful bipartisan solution.

If you believe in the marketplace, then you understand the importance of price discovery, and you cannot have price discovery if you don't have transparency. This just provides additional leverage and additional tools to the hardworking, independent cow-calf operators and small feeders who have seen their position, their leverage, in the marketplace erode in recent years.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to enthusiastically support this promarket legislation. I look forward to the Senate expeditiously taking up this issue as well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the management of this bill to Mr. Johnson of South Dakota.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5609, the Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021.

As I am sure many of my colleagues have heard from their constituents back home, the differences between prices paid to producers for their live cattle, and those paid by consumers at the meat counter, have led to spirited debate about the transparency of the cattle markets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A variety of hearings on the matter have amplified those concerns. These hearings and other related oversight have also made very clear the differing opinions on if and how they should be addressed legislatively.

There is a small, but vocal, faction in support of government mandates dictating thresholds of cattle to be purchased on the spot market. Frankly, such a proposal lacks broad industry support and, in my opinion, needs further review to ensure it would actually achieve its intended goals.

In fact, on two occasions now during this Congress, the House Agriculture Committee has heard from diverse groups of respected economists and industry stakeholders about the potential costs and unintended consequences of this sort of government intervention in the marketplace.

Giving these complex and compelling interests, I am thankful for Congressman Dusty Johnson's leadership in pursuit of what I view as a pragmatic middle ground with a broad cross-section of industry support.

If true market transparency is the goal, it seems to make sense that a cattle contract library could serve as part of the solution. The library would serve as a clearinghouse of information regarding the various contract provisions being utilized in a variety of marketing arrangements. Hopefully, access to this information would provide producers and feeders more insight into market transactions and ultimately give them more leverage in negotiating better terms for the sale of their cattle.

It may not be a silver bullet to all that ails the industry, but I certainly think H.R. 5609 marks a commonsense step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in support of this carefully crafted bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5609) to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, to establish a cattle contract library, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5609.

One of my goals, Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, is to ensure that our farmers and our ranchers are treated fairly. This bill, which creates a cattle contract library, will improve fairness through increasing transparency in the marketplaces.

Mr. Speaker, over the past few years, we have seen significant volatility in our cattle markets, and the Agriculture Committee has held hearings to discuss this volatility and the events that precipitated those price fluctuations.

As we look for ways to bring about parity to cattle markets, this bill is one good step in that right direction.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, Mr. Johnson, for his work on this bill. This is a good reminder, another reminder, of the great bipartisan legislation that is possible when we Democrats and Republicans work together to address important issues. I thank the gentleman, Mr. Johnson, for putting this bill forward.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

First of all, I thank the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) for his dedication, hard work, and talent in putting forward this bill.

I believe that our ranchers, farmers, and those in the agriculture industry are looking at a great day for agriculture today to get these four important bills over to the Senate, where we will be working together on them.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank Mr. Johnson, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) for all of his work in getting this legislation put together and bringing it to the floor this morning. It is not a silver bullet, but it potentially can help our cattle markets.

I grew up on a family farm and preconditioning feed yard. I spent thousands of hours riding pens and doctoring sick cattle in the Big First District of Kansas, which is the largest beef-producing district in the country. The Big First is home to cow-calf operations, feed yards, and packing plants of all sizes.

In my district and across the country, cattle producers face challenging market dynamics, including historically wide gaps between wholesale beef prices and fed cattle prices, packing capacity and regulation, and more.

I have talked to hundreds of cattle producers in Kansas, ranging from small cow-calf operations to some of the country's largest feed yards. Overwhelmingly, I have heard that we need to increase price discovery in the cash market, make sure that producers benefit when they provide a superior product, refuse to let the government in the free market, and acknowledge regional differences in the industry.

The Cattle Contract Library Act is a simple step toward addressing some of today's concerns with more fairness, transparency, and healthy competition in the cattle market. I am committed to working with the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Johnson), my colleagues in the House, and others across Kansas and the country in addressing any concerns with the program and the cattle market before reauthorization of the program at this time next year.

The Cattle Contract Library Act will help ensure that all market participants are both paying and receiving a fair price for their goods. It sends a clear message to ranchers, farmers, and livestock producers across the country that their voices are being heard in Washington. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague from South Dakota for yielding me time to speak today.

Iowa's farmers, ranchers, and producers know the value of a hard day's work. For years, they have endured challenges beyond their control. Even though I am a doctor, I know of no work more demanding than birthing calves in the middle of winter and helping them to survive.

Natural disasters such as fires, drought, and derechos have created significant market disruptions.

I was proud to be a cosponsor of Congressman Johnson's Cattle Contract Library Act to give cattlemen access

to the most accurate data to make the best decisions possible for their families and their business in the face of these conditions and provide more transparency in the markets.

For months, I have been calling for increased transparency in our cattle markets to help both producers and consumers. I was proud to introduce the bipartisan Meat Packing Special Investigator Act to take on anticompetitive practices and give producers a fair shake and strictly enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act.

I was also proud to help introduce the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act, which aims to return fairness to the cattle marketplace dominated by four major meatpackers.

It is crucial for Iowa's producers that there is fairness and transparency in our cattle industry. I thank Congressmen Johnson and Cuellar for their incredible work on this issue. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important legislation, H.R. 5609.