TOPEKA, Kan. — U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota and a group of bipartisan cosponsors, including Congressman Roger Marshall, have introduced the Price Reform in Cattle Economics (PRICE) Act, which seeks to improve the marketing environment for cattle producers. According to Johnson, the PRICE Act combines several new ideas with existing bipartisan proposals to create consensus legislation that would eliminate regulatory barriers, improve market signals and support small meat processors.

Included in the bill are existing legislative proposals to open new markets for state-inspected beef products, such as the Direct Interstate Retail Exemption for Certain Transactions Act, and new provisions to aid producer-owned beef processing facilities. The legislation would give a directive to USDA to provide Congress cost-benefit and feasibility of various proposals to enhance price discovery through mandatory price reporting and seeks to increase transparency in fed cattle transactions through a Beef Cattle Contract Library overseen by the Packers and Stockyards Division of the Agricultural Marketing Service.

A section-by-section analysis exploring all provisions of the bill can be accessed by going to Johnson’s website located at dustyjohnson.house.gov/price-act-section-section.

— Kansas Livestock Association

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