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Grassley says cattle reform efforts losing momentum

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says his proposed cattle market reform faces a tough road ahead.

“With the reductions of cattle, there’s going to be some improvement in cattle prices, so maybe the urgency of it isn’t being promoted by cattlemen like it ought to be,” he said Tuesday morning.

The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act would establish regional cash minimums to increase transparency and accountability in the cattle market.  It would also provide producers with more market information and permanently authorize a cattle contract library.

The Iowa Republican tells Brownfield the issue cannot be ignored. “This is a long-term problem,” he said. “Just because cattle prices improve, we shouldn’t stop our efforts to bring more competition to cattle slaughtering so the big four don’t control everything.”

Grassley says the future of the bill depends on the next farm bill. “I think it will have to be coupled with that or we won’t get it.”

The proposed bill is co-sponsored by Senators Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Jon Tester of Montana.