Cattle Contract Library, Grazing on Federal Lands and Wild Bison Hot Topics in New Orleans

February 2, 2023

An important issue for cattle producers is increasing competition and market transparency. This week the USDA launched the Cattle Contract Library pilot program designed to provide new disclosure to the industry and public regarding the key terms, conditions, and volumes under which cattle are contracted. During the Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans, NCBA Senior Director of Government Affairs Tanner Beymer explained their efforts to get cattle producers more information and help them be more profitable.

"Essentially what that library does is it allows producers to see the types of contracts that are offered by packers to cattle feeders for the procurement of fed cattle, and ultimately that will allow them to look at some of the options that are out there and say my cattle meet the qualifications and standards for this particular program," said Beymer. "I see that that program gets a premium when it comes time to sell to the packer. Maybe that's something that I want to take the time and enroll in so that I can get that extra dollar for those higher quality cattle that I'm raising. Any more information to put out there into the marketplace is powerful for producers in the right hands and we've been very pleased to see it."

A lot of ranchers in the West continue to utilize public lands for grazing and NCBA. Federal Lands Committee chairman Jim Hellyer from Lander, Wyo. says that they're working hard to make sure that continues.

"We all want a successful ranch program," said Hellyer. "A successful ranch program is where the permittee and agency are all working towards functioning systems, good grass, clean water, and of course, a relationship between between the regulated and the regulator."

Wild bison are also being talked about here in New Orleans as the Montana Stockgrowers Association hopes to bring more attention to their lawsuit involving the BLM and the American Prairie Reserve in north central Montana.

"We're involved in an appeal on that because it is so we feel it blatantly disregarded the Taylor Grazing Act and as well as other laws in in allowing those those allotments to be changed over to species that are that are not production livestock," said MSGA president John Grande from Martinsdale. "At the same time, it's doing things that go against 100 years worth of good resource management and are not the best for the resource and and the good grazing management. So, we're really here to ask people to help us out with that appeal and let them know that this is an issue that potentially affects everybody in the country."

For information about the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show click here.

Source: Western Ag Network