Yesterday, during a House Agriculture Committee hearing on the American cattle market, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) criticized the Big Four Meat Packers over their price-fixing shenanigans and anticompetitive behavior that are severely impacting Iowa’s small, independent beef producers. In his remarks, Feenstra called for greater transparency in the cattle market and a level playing field for small, family producers in Iowa to sell their quality goods to the country and the world.
“The cattle market needs reform now,” said. Rep. Feenstra. “Iowa’s small, independent cattle producers deserve a level playing field. Efficiency is not an excuse for exploitation. That’s why I am planning to introduce legislation in the House to bring transparency and accountability back to our cattle markets. It’s time for the Big Packers to play by the rules that were set long ago.”
Last November, Feenstra and Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA) introduced the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act to return fairness to the cattle marketplace dominated by four major meat packers.
Earlier this year, Feenstra spoke on the House floor to expose what Iowa’s beef producers have known all along – that the Big Four Meat Packers are illegally distorting the market to increase their profits at the expense of Iowa family farmers.
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