The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association supports the creation of a cattle contract library to provide additional transparency to the fed cattle market.
Nearly two years ago at the Cattle Convention in San Antonio, the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association rallied other state affiliates of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to pursue transparency of formula transactions. Together we passed a policy that directed NCBA to support the establishment of a cattle contract library and require the Agricultural Marketing Service to publicly report details of formula transactions through Livestock Mandatory Reporting.
The recently introduced Cattle Contract Library Act (H.R. 5609) isn’t a novel concept; it’s been discussed in the Senate by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) for several months. We’ve long supported the concept as part of a comprehensive solution. However, our members believe transparency, competition, and price discovery are vital to improving the current state of the fed cattle market. “A cattle contract library would provide additional transparency, but more can be done to address the challenges faced by underleveraged cattle producers in Iowa,” says ICA CEO Matt Deppe. “Cash trade is not balanced throughout the beef belt. Without adequate cash trade, there is no true price discovery. A mandate to require meatpackers to procure a percentage of their cattle via negotiated trade is needed now more than ever.”
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