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NCBA vice president urges Congress to listen to producers on cattle markets
A South Dakota cattle feeder says he wanted to deliver a clear message to members of the U.S. House Ag Committee. Todd Wilkinson, vice president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, says “producers should be in charge, not the packers.”
He tells Brownfield cattle producers want more robust price discovery and increased competition. But a one-size-fits-all prescription isn’t the answer. “Trying to have a government mandate as to what price discover is, concerns NCBA, and quite frankly concerns me as a producer,” he says.
He says price discovery needs to be voluntary. “Let the producer go out there and negotiate the best deal they can get,” he says. “But at the same time, don’t let that packer dictate what can happen.”
Wilkinson says cattle producers need a multi-pronged approach for relief. That includes reauthorizing Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) to maintain transparency in the markets and increasing processing capacity, which would help boost competition in the market. He says the cattle industry also needs proper oversight, and urged the Department of Justice to complete their investigation into possible anti-competitive practices by big meatpackers.
AUDIO: Todd Wilkinson, South Dakota, NCBA vice president
