Tester Stresses Importance Of Bills For Ranchers
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., stressed the importance for ranchers and consumers of having his two bills passed that address consolidation in the ag industry.
The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act will increase transparency in the market and set regional mandatory minimum thresholds for negotiated cattle purchases.
Meat Packing Special Investigator Act will put teeth back in the Packers and Stockyards Act by creating a team of investigators within the USDA, with subpoena power, dedicated to preventing and addressing anticompetitive practices in the meat and poultry industries and enforcing antitrust laws.
“Capitalism has helped to make America the greatest nation the world has ever seen — but capitalism only works if we have competition — and right now a lack of competition, specifically in agriculture, is making it harder and harder for our family farms and ranches to succeed,” Tester said. “In Montana, production agriculture is a way of life, and it’s how countless families across our state make a living. For generations, family farmers and ranchers have handed down their operations and fed our nation — but each year it’s getting harder and harder to make those operations pencil — especially for our ranchers.”
Four companies control more than 80 percent of the meatpacking industry for beef.
“A pound of beef at the grocery store costs twice as much as it did 20 years ago, and the big packers are making record profits. Now I’m all for folks making a profit. But with packers making record profits, you’d think that Montana’s ranchers would be getting their slice of the pie. That’s not the case,” Tester said. “The big packers are paying less for cattle, and charging more for their finished product. Producers are getting undercut, and consumers are paying a hefty price at the grocery store. It’s about time that Montana’s producers got paid fairly for their premium product, and it’s time that consumers get a fair shake at the meat counter.”
Tester provided remarks before the Senate Agriculture Committee about the bills. “It looks like we’re going to get them to the Senate floor for a vote. I’m urging all of my colleagues to pass these bills and put them on the president’s desk as quickly as possible,” Tester said.
The senator added, “If we don’t do anything, we know what the results will be. Long-time ranchers will be going out of business.”
