Chicago - U.S. cattle producers adopted a number of policy guidelines at the close of their annual convention in Charlotte, NC, including support for mandatory livestock price reporting, industry officials said.
“The price reporting resolution was a little bit opposite from what was passed at the summer meeting, where we were looking at 18 months approximately of more voluntary reporting,” said George Swan, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Swan said that NCBA had adopted the call for mandatory pricing of live cattle as part of a broader marketing resolution.
“It would require any U.S. packer controlling or slaughtering more than five percent of the daily federally inspected slaughter report price and terms of purchase of all cattle purchased within 24 hours of purchase,” Swan said.
The resolution also called for immediate mandatory volume and price reporting to be achieved for boxed beef, beef imports and beef exports, Swan said.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman in a speech at the NCBA convention said he would ask Congress for authority to require U.S. packers and slaughterhouses to report livestock prices.
Cattle and pork producers have complained that the highly concentrated slaughterhouse segment of the industry was not paying fair prices. In late December, hog prices fell to a pre-World War II low of eight cents per pound while retail grocery prices stayed stable.
NCBA also approved an amended resolution supporting a more pro-active stance to educate beef consumers on why irradiation should be used to control pathogens, said Chuck Schroeder, NCBA chief executive officer.
Glickman also on Friday announced USDA would release proposed rules for voluntary irradiation of ground beef and other red meat.
Irradiation uses minute doses of gamma rays or electrons to kill dangerous bacteria such as E.coli 0157:H7, listeria, salmonella and campylobacter.
“This was really important news because we feel that private industry has declared they are ready to implement this technology but they can't do it without USDA guidelines being in place,” Schroeder said.
Schroeder added he was “reasonably certain” that checkoff funds would be targeted for consumer education on the benefits of beef irradiation.
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