II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 543 

To amend the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, to establish a cattle 

contract library, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2 (legislative day, MARCH 1), 2021 

Mrs. FISCHER (for herself, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, and Mr. BRAUN) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, to 

establish a cattle contract library, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cattle Market Trans5 parency Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CATTLE CONTRACT LIBRARY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title II of the Packers and Stock8 yards Act, 1921, is amended by inserting after section 223 

9 (7 U.S.C. 198b) the following: 


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1 ‘‘Subtitle C—Cattle Contracts 

2 ‘‘SEC. 231. DEFINITIONS. 

3 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

4 ‘‘(1) BASE PRICE.—The term ‘base price’ 

5 means the price paid for cattle delivered to a packer, 

6 before application of any premiums or discounts, ex7 pressed in dollars per hundred pounds of carcass 

8 weight. 

9 ‘‘(2) CONTRACT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara11 graph (B), the term ‘contract’ means any 

12 agreement, written or oral, between a packer 

13 and a producer for the purchase of fed cattle 

14 for slaughter. 

15 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘contract’ 

16 does not include a contract for a negotiated 

17 purchase. 

18 ‘‘(3) FED CATTLE.—The term ‘fed cattle’ 

19 means a steer or heifer that has been finished on a 

20 ration of roughage and feed concentrates, such as 

21 grains, protein meal, grass (forage), and other nutri22 ent-rich feeds, prior to slaughter. 

23 ‘‘(4) FORMULA MARKETING ARRANGEMENT.— 

24 The term ‘formula marketing arrangement’ means 

25 the advance commitment of cattle for slaughter— 


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1 ‘‘(A) by any means other than through a 

2 negotiated purchase, negotiated grid purchase, 

3 or forward contract; and 

4 ‘‘(B) using a method for calculating 

5 price— 

6 ‘‘(i) under which the price is deter7 mined at a future date; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the basis of which is a price es9 tablished for a specified market, which 

10 may be based on any publicly reported 

11 price, including plant average price, re12 gional price, downstream price, or some 

13 other mutually agreeable price source; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) that may include a grid or 

15 nongrid price. 

16 ‘‘(5) FORWARD CONTRACT.—The term ‘forward 

17 contract’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) an agreement for the purchase of fed 

19 cattle, executed in advance of slaughter, under 

20 which the base price is established by reference 

21 to— 

22 ‘‘(i) prices quoted on the Chicago 

23 Mercantile Exchange; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) other comparable publicly avail25 able prices; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) any other contract for the purchase 

2 of fed cattle, executed in advance of slaughter, 

3 as determined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(6) HEIFER.—The term ‘heifer’ means a bo5 vine female that has not given birth to a calf. 

6 ‘‘(7) NEGOTIATED GRID PURCHASE.—The term 

7 ‘negotiated grid purchase’ means a purchase of fed 

8 cattle by a packer from a producer under which— 

9 ‘‘(A) the buyer-seller interaction results in 

10 a negotiated base price, which may be adjusted 

11 by premiums and discounts; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the cattle are scheduled for delivery 

13 to the packer not more than 14 days after the 

14 date on which the agreement for purchase is 

15 made. 

16 ‘‘(8) NEGOTIATED PURCHASE.—The term ‘ne17 gotiated purchase’ means a purchase of fed cattle 

18 (commonly known as a ‘cash’ or ‘spot market’ pur19 chase) by a packer from a producer under which— 

20 ‘‘(A) the buyer-seller interaction that re21 sults in the purchase and the agreement on the 

22 actual base price for the purchase occur on the 

23 same day; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the cattle are scheduled for delivery 

25 to the packer not more than 14 days after the 


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1 date on which the agreement for purchase is 

2 made. 

3 ‘‘(9) PACKER.—The term ‘packer’ has the 

4 meaning given the term in section 221 of the Agri5 cultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635d). 

6 ‘‘(10) PRODUCER.—The term ‘producer’ means 

7 a person engaged in the business of selling cattle to 

8 a packer for slaughter. 

9 ‘‘(11) STEER.—The term ‘steer’ means a bovine 

10 male castrated before reaching sexual maturity. 

11 ‘‘(12) TYPE OF CONTRACT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘type of con13 tract’ means the classification of a contract for 

14 the purchase of cattle— 

15 ‘‘(i) into 1 of the categories described 

16 in subparagraph (B); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) by determining the base price of 

18 the cattle. 

19 ‘‘(B) CATEGORIES.—The categories for 

20 classification of a type of contract are the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(i) Formula marketing arrangement. 

23 ‘‘(ii) Forward contract. 

24 ‘‘(iii) Negotiated grid purchase con25 tract. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 232. CATTLE CONTRACT LIBRARY. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap3 propriations to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 

4 establish and maintain a library or catalog of each type 

5 of contract offered by packers to producers for the pur6 chase of all or part of the production of the producers 

7 of fed cattle (including cattle that are purchased or com8 mitted for delivery), including any schedules of premiums 

9 or discounts associated with the contract. 

10 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION COLLECTION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To maintain the library or 

12 catalog established under subsection (a), the Sec13 retary shall obtain information from each packer on 

14 each type of existing contract of the packer by re15 quiring a filing or other form of information submis16 sion from each packer. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTED CATTLE NUMBERS.—Infor18 mation that shall be submitted to the Secretary by 

19 a packer under paragraph (1) shall include, with re20 spect to each existing contract of a packer— 

21 ‘‘(A) the type of contract; and 

22 ‘‘(B) a description of the provisions in the 

23 contract that provide for expansion in the num24 bers of fed cattle to be delivered under the con25 tract for the 6-month and 12-month periods fol26 lowing the date of the contract. 


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1 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

3 available to producers and other interested persons 

4 information on the types of contracts in the library 

5 or catalog established under subsection (a), includ6 ing notice (on a real-time basis, if practicable) of the 

7 types of contracts that are being offered by packers 

8 to, and are open to acceptance by, producers for the 

9 purchase of fed cattle. 

10 ‘‘(2) MONTHLY REPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 30 days 

12 after the library or catalog is established under 

13 subsection (a), the Secretary shall make the in14 formation obtained each month in the library or 

15 catalog available in a monthly report to pro16 ducers and other interested persons. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The monthly report de18 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall include— 

19 ‘‘(i) an estimate by the Secretary of 

20 the total number of fed cattle committed 

21 under contracts for delivery to packers 

22 within the 6-month and 12-month periods 

23 following the date of the report, organized 

24 by reporting region and type of contract; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an estimate by the Secretary of 

2 the total maximum number of fed cattle 

3 that may be delivered within the 6-month 

4 and 12-month periods following the date of 

5 the report, based on the provisions de6 scribed in subsection (c)(2)(B) in existing 

7 contracts, organized by reporting region 

8 and type of contract. 

9 ‘‘(d) MAINTENANCE OF LIBRARY OR CATALOG.—In10 formation in the library or catalog established under sub11 section (a) about types of contracts that are no longer of12 fered or in use shall be removed from the library or cata13 log. 

14 ‘‘(e) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The reporting require15 ments for packers under this section shall be subject to 

16 the confidentiality protections provided under section 251 

17 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 

18 1636). 

19 ‘‘(f) VIOLATIONS.—It shall be unlawful and a viola20 tion of this Act for any packer to willfully fail or refuse— 

21 ‘‘(1) to provide to the Secretary accurate infor22 mation required under this section; or 

23 ‘‘(2) to comply with any other requirement of 

24 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 

3 sums as are necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 201 of the 

5 Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 191), is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘When used in this Act’’ and insert7 ing ‘‘Unless specified otherwise, in this Act,’’. 

8 SEC. 3. CASH MARKET ACQUISITION OF CATTLE. 

9 (a) SENSE OF THE SENATE.—It is the sense of the 

10 Senate that all participants in the fed cattle market have 

11 a responsibility to contribute to regionally sufficient levels 

12 of negotiated trade of fed cattle in all cattle feeding re13 gions in order to achieve robust price discovery. 

14 (b) CASH MARKET ACQUISITION OF CATTLE.—Title 

15 II of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 191 

16 et seq.) (as amended by section 2), is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘Subtitle D—Cash Market 

19 Acquisition of Cattle 

20 ‘‘SEC. 241. DEFINITIONS. 

21 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

22 ‘‘(1) NEGOTIATED GRID PURCHASE.—The term 

23 ‘negotiated grid purchase’ means a purchase of fed 

24 cattle by a packer from a producer under which— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the buyer-seller interaction results in 

2 a negotiated base price, which may be adjusted 

3 by premiums and discounts; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the fed cattle are scheduled for deliv5 ery to the packer not more than 14 days after 

6 the date on which the agreement for purchase 

7 is made. 

8 ‘‘(2) NEGOTIATED PURCHASE.—The term ‘ne9 gotiated purchase’ means a purchase of fed cattle 

10 (commonly known as a ‘cash’ or ‘spot market’ pur11 chase) by a packer from a producer under which— 

12 ‘‘(A) the buyer-seller interaction that re13 sults in the purchase and the agreement on the 

14 actual base price for the purchase occur on the 

15 same day; and 

16 ‘‘(B) the fed cattle are scheduled for deliv17 ery to the packer not more than 14 days after 

18 the date on which the agreement for purchase 

19 is made. 

20 ‘‘(3) PACKER.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘packer’ has 

22 the meaning given the term in section 221 of 

23 the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 

24 U.S.C. 1635d). 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘packer’ does 

2 not include a packer that slaughters cattle at 

3 only 1 livestock processing plant. 

4 ‘‘(4) PRODUCER.—The term ‘producer’ means a 

5 person engaged in the business of selling cattle to a 

6 packer for slaughter. 

7 ‘‘(5) REGIONAL MANDATORY MINIMUM.—The 

8 term ‘regional mandatory minimum’ means, for each 

9 reporting region (as designated by the Agricultural 

10 Marketing Service), of the number of transactions 

11 and quantity of cattle purchased for slaughter by a 

12 packer in that region each slaughter week, the min13 imum number of such transactions and the min14 imum percentage of such cattle, respectively, that 

15 are required to be purchased through negotiated 

16 purchases or negotiated grid purchases from pro17 ducers. 

18 ‘‘(6) SLAUGHTER WEEK.—The term ‘slaughter 

19 week’ has the meaning given the term ‘current 

20 slaughter week’ in section 212 of the Agricultural 

21 Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635a). 

22 ‘‘SEC. 242. REGIONAL MANDATORY MINIMUMS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

24 date of enactment of this subtitle, the Secretary, in con25 sultation with the Chief Economist, shall establish— 


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1 ‘‘(1) regional mandatory minimums for the pur2 pose of enhancing price discovery and transparency 

3 for cattle market participants; and 

4 ‘‘(2) methods for establishing those regional 

5 mandatory minimums, which shall be publicly avail6 able. 

7 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC INPUT.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

8 the Secretary shall make all proposed regional mandatory 

9 minimums and proposed methods for establishing those 

10 minimums subject to a notice and comment period. 

11 ‘‘(c) DURATION.—Regional mandatory minimums es12 tablished for each reporting region under subsection 

13 (a)(1)— 

14 ‘‘(1) may be weekly or on another periodic 

15 basis, as determined by the Secretary; and 

16 ‘‘(2) shall be applicable for not more than a 24- 

17 month period. 

18 ‘‘(d) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out subsection 

19 (a) for each reporting region, the Secretary, in consulta20 tion with the Chief Economist, shall consider the following 

21 factors: 

22 ‘‘(1) The number of packers in the reporting re23 gion. 

24 ‘‘(2) The availability of cattle in the reporting 

25 region. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Pre-existing contractual arrangements of 

2 packers in the reporting region. 

3 ‘‘(4) The number of pricing transactions (pens 

4 of cattle sold) in the reporting region. 

5 ‘‘(e) INITIAL REQUIREMENT.—The initial regional 

6 mandatory minimums established for each reporting re7 gion under subsection (a)(1) shall be not less than the av8 erage percentage of negotiated purchases and negotiated 

9 grid purchases in that region from the 3 previous calendar 

10 years. 

11 ‘‘(f) BIANNUAL REVIEW.—On establishing regional 

12 mandatory minimums under subsection (a)(1), the Sec13 retary— 

14 ‘‘(1) shall review the regional mandatory mini15 mums not less frequently than once every 2 years; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) may, in consultation with the Chief Econo18 mist, modify the regional mandatory minimums 

19 after— 

20 ‘‘(A) making the proposed modification 

21 subject to a notice and comment period; and 

22 ‘‘(B) consulting with representatives of the 

23 United States cattle and beef industry. 


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1 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT.—On establishing regional man2 datory minimums under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary 

3 shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) regularly monitor compliance by packers 

5 with those regional mandatory minimums; and 

6 ‘‘(2) enforce this section in accordance with sec7 tion 203. 

8 ‘‘(h) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—Not later than 3 

9 years after establishing regional mandatory minimums 

10 under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary, in consultation 

11 with the Chief Economist, shall conduct a quantifiable, 

12 data-driven cost-benefit analysis regarding the operation 

13 and effect of those regional mandatory minimums.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. 14-DAY CATTLE SLAUGHTER. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF CATTLE COMMITTED.—Section 

16 221(1) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 

17 U.S.C. 1635d(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘7-day’’ and in18 serting ‘‘14-day’’. 

19 (b) MANDATORY REPORTING FOR LIVE CATTLE.— 

20 Section 222(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 

21 (7 U.S.C. 1635e(c)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (A) by striking subparagraphs (B) and 

24 (C); and 


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1 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 

2 subparagraph (B); 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para4 graph (3); and 

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(2) PRIOR DAY REPORTING.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The corporate officers 

9 or officially designated representatives of each 

10 packer processing plant shall report to the Sec11 retary, for each business day of the packer 

12 processing plant, not later than 10:00 a.m. 

13 Central Time on each reporting day, the infor14 mation from the prior business day described in 

15 subparagraph (B). 

16 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The in17 formation required under subparagraph (A) 

18 shall be, with respect to the prior business day, 

19 the number of cattle, organized by cattle type, 

20 scheduled for delivery to a packer processing 

21 plant for slaughter for each of the next 14 cal22 endar days.’’. 

23 SEC. 5. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION. 

24 Section 251(a) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 

25 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1636(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indent3 ing appropriately; 

4 (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 

5 (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘The Secretary 

6 shall make available to the public information’’ and 

7 inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

9 available to the public all information’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section permits 

12 the Secretary, or any officer or employee of the Sec13 retary, to withhold from the public the information, 

14 statistics, and documents described in paragraph 

15 (1).’’. 

Æ 


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