WASHINGTON — The Mandatory Price Reporting Reauthorization legislation, introduced by US Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), chairman of the US Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, has been signed into law by President Obama, extending reporting requirements of livestock daily markets for five years.

“This represents a major step forward in helping Arkansas producers better maintain transparency and certainty in livestock markets,” Lincoln said. “Animal agriculture is responsible for more than 57,000 Arkansas jobs and $2.55 billion in added value every year to the state’s economy. As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I’m proud to report this law will ensure that family farmers and Arkansas ranchers can remain confident that they are receiving fair market value for their livestock they have worked tirelessly to bring to the market.”


Lincoln’s bill also calls for reporting on Mandatory Reporting of Wholesale Pork (MRWP) meat cuts. This new provision will improve transparency to the pork industry and further protect producers, she said.

News of the bill’s signing was welcomed by many in the industry.

“As a producer of high-quality beef for a growing global population, I appreciate Senator Lincoln’s efforts to help continue the availability of timely and accurate market information for US cattle producers,” said Bruce Hafenfeld, a California-based cattle producer and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Policy Division Chair. “By reauthorizing Mandatory Price Reporting, cattle producers will continue to have access to daily price and volume information on purchases of cattle and boxed-beef sales, as well as export and import data. This effort to enhance transparency in the marketplace is a definite win for every aspect of the industry.”

“We appreciate Chairman Blanche Lincoln’s leadership to secure legislation that will ensure reporting continues, to avoid the situation where not everyone was reporting accurately is critical to our industry,” said Glen Fisher, American Sheep Industry Association president.

“We are very pleased that the Agriculture Committee approved legislation reauthorizing the mandatory price reporting law,” said National Pork Producers Council President Sam Carney, a pork producer from Adair, Iowa. “The addition of export and wholesale cuts reporting will further help producers like me make business and production decisions.”