990332 USDA Sees Rising Support For Meat Price Reporting

Washington - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said he thinks there is a boost in support for mandatory price reporting for meat among lawmakers who would have to approve such a program.

“In a lot of farm organizations I've heard that there is greater interest on Capitol Hill,” Glickman told reporters after testifying at a House subcommittee hearing. “So yes, I think there's growing support for it.”

Glickman said earlier this week that he plans to ask Congress to force meatpackers to report the prices they pay for livestock in an effort to give farmers more information about the going rates.

Rather than demand price reporting, Congress last year agreed to a one-year study of the issue under the stipulation that none of the information be released to the public. Many said this watered down the USDA's power so much that it was completely ineffective.

This Article Compliments of...