1275 Pennsylvania Ave NW Suite 801

Washington, D.C. 20004

policy.ncba.org 202.347.0228

April 21, 2022

Mr. Bruce Summers, Administrator

Agricultural Marketing Service

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Ave SW

Washington, DC 20250

Responding to a Notice to Trade dated April 11, 2022, entitled “USDA to Host Listening Session on Cattle Contracts Library Pilot Program 

Development”

Submitted to: Wash.LPGMN@usda.gov

RE: NCBA Stakeholder Feedback on Cattle Contracts Library Pilot Program

Dear Administrator Summers:

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) appreciates this opportunity to provide stakeholder feedback to the Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) as the Agency develops a Cattle Contracts Library (CCL) pilot program pursuant to Division A, Tittle VII, Section 779 of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022 (Pub.L. 117-103). NCBA is the oldest and largest national trade association representing the interest 

of the U.S. cattle and beef industry, with over 250,000 members represented both through direct membership and 44 state affiliate 

associations. In addition to our feedback below, NCBA encourages the Agency to consider those comments submitted by our various state 

affiliate associations throughout this process.

Background

As part of our efforts to increase transparency in the marketplace, NCBA has long supported the concept of a CCL. At the Cattle Industry 

Summer Business Meeting in July 2020, our members adopted policy advocating the creation of such a database to be housed at USDA. In 

2021, at our annual convention, a working group was formed to further evaluate the CCL concept and provide more specific 

recommendations for how the program should be established and maintained. That working group, made up of cattle producers from over 25 

states, delivered its report to NCBA’s Live Cattle Marketing Committee at the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention last February. As a result, the 

Committee adopted new policy, reaffirming NCBA’s support of the CCL and outlining additional recommendations regarding its 

implementation. These policies served as the basis of NCBA’s support for various legislative efforts on Capitol Hill, including the Cattle 

Contract Library Act (117th Cong., H.R. 5609) which passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 411-13 on December 8, 2021, and 

also serve as the basis for the recommendations contained in these comments. 

General Provisions

NCBA was pleased congressional appropriators directed the CCL pilot program to be administered by the Livestock, Poultry, and Grain 

Market News (LPGMN) Division at AMS, rather than the Packers and Stockyards Division (PSD) which administers the Swine Contract 

Library. As the entity charged with administering the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) program, NCBA believes LPGMN is uniquely 

qualified to receive high volumes of complex data, and report it to the public in a user-friendly manner which does not disclose proprietary 

business information. Further, maintaining the CCL pilot program within the LPGMN allows the PSD to better focus resources toward its 

mission as an enforcement bureau.

Information Reported in the Library

The CCL is intended to be used as a market transparency tool, providing cattle producers with information about possible trading methods 

which may increase opportunities to capture previously unrealized value. However, it should not be utilized as a means to scrutinize the 

minute details of another producer’s marketing arrangements. As such, NCBA believes that the library should contain summaries of the types 

of contracts offered by meatpackers to cattle producers for the procurement of fed cattle. At no point should individual contracts, regardless of 

any effort made to conceal the parties thereto, be made available for public access. 
Further, NCBA believes that pricing mechanisms which influence the final net price paid for cattle should be the only contract terms reported 

in the CCL pilot program. This includes any freight costs associated with transporting cattle (e.g., “F.O.B.” or “delivered”). Contract 

specifications which are not associated with a premium or discount to the base price, including but not limited to financing arrangements, 

production practices, certification requirements, etc., should not be included in the CCL. In NCBA’s opinion, terms of this nature constitute 

proprietary business information.

Differentiation of Contract Types

NCBA believes that the various contract types maintained within the CCL pilot program should be easily differentiated based on similarities in 

the establishment of a base price and/or the types of pricing mechanisms which influence the final net price. Additionally, contracts which are 

no longer offered by a meatpacker to a cattle producer should be clearly labeled as “inactive” and, to the maximum extent practicable, noted 

as such in the maintenance report published most closely following deactivation. Further, contracts which cover an unspecified volume of 

cattle, or allow for a nonspecific delivery time within a broad period (i.e., “open contracts”), should be reported and maintained separately. 

Confidentiality

NCBA respects the appropriate privacy of all cattle market participants, and thus strongly supports the strictest protection of proprietary 

business information. In establishing and maintaining the CCL pilot program, USDA-AMS must adhere to the relevant statutory and regulatory 

requirements, as well as longstanding Agency guidance, related to confidentiality1. Contract types included in the library should be 

aggregates of individual contracts with similar terms. In the event an individual contract is reported to the Agency but cannot be reasonably 

summarized with similar contract types, the contract should be deemed noncompliant with the Agency’s confidentiality rules and not be 

reported to the public or maintained in the CCL. 

Producer Education

The CCL pilot program has the potential to be a highly useful tool for cattle producers at every segment of the supply chain, but only if 

producers can easily comprehend and navigate the information contained therein. As appropriations and resources allow, the Agency should 

provide educational outreach to cattle producers about the CCL pilot program. The Agency may utilize existing programs, such as the Cattle 

and Carcass Training program, or develop new modules to teach producers how to navigate the library. The Agency may also consider 

strategic partnerships with land-grant universities, cooperative extension, or other entities to combine technical explanations with practical 

applications for using the information contained in the CCL to make business decisions. 

Analysis and Recommendations

Shortly following the conclusion of the CCL pilot program, the Agency should publish a thorough analysis of the program. This analysis should 

include any demonstrable market effects, challenges associated with data collection and dissemination, recommendations for potential 

improvements, stakeholder feedback regarding program efficacy and usefulness, and a potential regulatory framework for CCL 

implementation in the event the program is permanently authorized. This report should be delivered to Congress, including the Senate and 

House Committees on Appropriations, and made publicly available on the Agency’s website. 

Conclusion

Thank you for allowing us to submit feedback on behalf of America’s cattle producers. As the Agency develops the CCL pilot program, please 

do not hesitate to contact the NCBA Center for Public Policy if we can ever be of assistance. 

Sincerely,

Tanner J. Beymer

Senior Director, Government Affairs

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

CC: Jennifer Porter, Deputy Administrator, USDA-AMS

Taylor Cox, Associate Deputy Administrator, USDA-AMS

Michael Sheats, Director, LPGMN Division, USDA-AMS

1 See 7 U.S.C. § 2276(a); 7 U.S.C. § 1622(g); 7 U.S.C. § 1636(a) et seq; 66 Fed. Reg. 41194; et al.