(WASHINGTON, Jan. 4, 2022) — “Today, the U.S. Trade Representative announced that the United States has prevailed in the first dispute settlement panel proceeding under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The panel agreed with the United States that Canada is unfairly restricting access to its market for U.S. dairy products by breaching its USMCA commitments regarding allocation of dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQs). …
United States Prevails in USMCA Dispute on Canadian Dairy Restrictions
From the office of the United States Trade Representative Biden-Harris Administration Secures Significant Trade Enforcement Victory for U.S. Dairy Farmers, Workers, and Exporters (WASHINGTON/January 04, 2022) — United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced that the United States has prevailed in the first dispute settlement panel proceeding ever brought under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). A USMCA panel agreed with …
Port Problems Plague Producers
The ongoing supply-chain crisis is a big headache to businesses and consumers alike, with no end in sight for the immediate future. Perishable products are particularly at risk, as even a week or two delay can affect product quality. The port delays that caused the supply-chain crisis began on the West Coast with labor shortages due to the pandemic. These …
House Advances Legislation to Provide Certainty and Increase Transparency in Cattle Markets
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a pair of bills to provide certainty and transparency in cattle markets—H.R. 5609, the Cattle Contract Library Act introduced by Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee Republican Leader Dusty Johnson, and H.R. 5290, a one-year extension for the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) Act introduced by Chairman David Scott. The current LMR authorization is set to …
NMPF Statement on the Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act
A new bill has been introduced that would require a hearing on the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO). New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who introduced the legislation, wants to hear firsthand from farmers about the issues needing addressed. Gillibrand, joined by Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, introduced the bipartisan Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act. It …
New Cattle on Feed Report Offers No Surprises
According to a new monthly report, cattle on feed in the U.S. is down slightly, which is no big surprise. The USDA report notes as of November 1st, 11.9 million head were on hand. According to a report from Gary Crawford, that confirms expectations of a smaller beef herd going into next year. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the U.S. for feedlots with …
Livestock Marketing Reformers Face Uphill Battle in Congress
Livestock marketing reforms in Congress face an uphill battle, despite reaching a bipartisan deal to boost price discovery and competition in the highly concentrated beef industry. This week, the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act was introduced. But Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley admits his bipartisan deal to set regional mandatory minimum levels of negotiated versus contract trades still faces industry pushback. That …
Legislation Introduced to Provide Pricing Leverage for Cattle Producers
Wednesday, Ranking Member of the Livestock & Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee Dusty Johnson (R-S.D) and Representative Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) introduced the bipartisan Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021 (H.R. 5609), which would create a library for cattle contracts within the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service. Currently, USDA maintains a pork contract library, and following significant volatility in the cattle market and the release of the …
New Report Indicates Government Interference in Beef & Cattle Markets has Unintended Consequences
In response to a bipartisan request from the House Agriculture Committee, Texas A&M University has completed a comprehensive report on the U.S. cattle and beef markets written by leading economists across the country. Among its key findings is that proposals increasing government intervention and mandates will cost livestock producers billions of dollars. “Thursday the House Agriculture Committee will hold the …
Discussing Milk Pricing Issues
Last week, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Dairy Subcommittee held a hearing that was called by chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). The hearing focused on issues related to milk pricing and the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, which has shown strains during the COVID-19 pandemic due in large part to flaws in the current Class I mover and its ripple effects through …