001214 Rules Issued for Meatpacker Price Reporting

Washington - Starting next year, meatpackers will have to disclose prices they pay farmers and ranchers for livestock.

The new program, authorized by Congress last year, is intended to give cattle, hog and sheep producers more leverage in bargaining with processors. The Department announced Tuesday its rules for operating the program.

“Price reporting will help level the playing field for small farmers and ranchers, allowing them to better compete in an increasingly concentrated agricultural economy,” Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said.

The disclosure requirement will apply to packers who annually process 125,000 cattle, 100,000 hogs or 75,000 lambs. Importers who import an average of 5,000 metric tons of lamb products also would be required to report prices they pay.

Packers will be required to report details of all livestock purchases as well as sales of boxed beef cuts, boxed lamb cuts and lamb carcasses. Importers must report sales of boxed lamb cuts.

“This is a major step that will improve the market negotiating position of family farmers and ranchers,” said George Hall, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. “It gives producers a leg up without stifling the marketplace.”

USDA initially will publish national reports and later phase in state and regional reports. The information will be available through USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. The department currently collects such information on a voluntary basis.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com