USCA is leading the effort to designate a minimum percentage of negotiated cash cattle purchases by each of the major meatpacking plants that are required to report to USDA AMS under the Livestock Mandatory Reporting program. 

What does this mean? 

Our proposal would require a minimum of 30 percent of each packer processing plant’s weekly volume of beef slaughter to come as a result of purchases made on the open market or spot market, defined as those purchases which fall under Negotiated Purchase Beef cattle purchased on the open or spot market, under the required minimum, would be delivered to the packer not more than 14 days after the date on which the livestock are sold to the packer.

How does it help? 

Fewer and fewer cattle are sold on a negotiated cash basis, which reduces the ability for true price discovery in the cattle marketplace. Negotiated cash cattle make up less than 20 percent of the market yet set the price for the other 80 percent of cattle sold through formula contracts and or cattle futures market.

What happens next? 

USCA is requesting this change through the reauthorization of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting program, which is set to expire on September 30, 2020. We are asking U.S. cattle producers to consider signing on to our letter in support of this change.

As of the sending of this Member Alert, 2,626 producers have signed on in support of our ask! 

>>> Sign the letter! <<<