House advances Johnson’s bipartisan bill to establish cattle contracts library

The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) to create a library for cattle contracts within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The House on Dec. 8 voted 411-13 to pass the Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021, H.R. 5609. Included among the original cosponsors of the bill are U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Frank Lucas (R-OK), and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND).

The bill specifically would task the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service Department with developing the library to make cattlemen aware of contract terms being offered by packers. Currently, cattlemen don’t have such information, which has led to a decline in leverage for smaller producers during price negotiations, according to Rep. Johnson’s office.

“Since I came to Congress, producers have made it clear they want transparency,” said Rep. Johnson, ranking member of the U.S. House Agriculture Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee, following the House vote. “The Cattle Contract Library provides just that and increases competition in an industry that desperately needs it.”

The lawmaker added that while no single piece of legislation can solve all of the industry’s problems, “getting this bill across the finish line was a team effort, and I’m grateful to all of the producers that helped get this done,” Rep. Johnson said.

South Dakota Farm Bureau President and American Farm Bureau Federation Vice President Scott VanderWal and Eric Jennings, president of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association, commended the House vote.

“The Cattle Contract Library Act addresses the need for market transparency for contracted cattle sales,” Jennings said. “South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association thanks Representative Johnson for his hard work in achieving passage of this important piece of market reform in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

The U.S. Senate received H.R. 5609 on Dec. 9 and referred the bill to the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee for consideration.