Calendar No. 296

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1672

[Report No. 106–168]

A BILL

To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946

to establish a program of mandatory market reporting for certain meat packers regarding theprices, quantities, and terms of sale for the procurement of cattle, swine, lambs, and products ofsuch livestock, to improve the collection of information regarding the marketing of cattle, swine,lambs, and products of such livestock, and forother purposes.

SEPTEMBER 30, 1999

Read twice and placed on the calendar
II

Calendar No. 296

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1672

[Report No. 106–168]

To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish a program

of mandatory market reporting for certain meat packers regarding the

prices, quantities, and terms of sale for the procurement of cattle, swine,

lambs, and products of such livestock, to improve the collection of information regarding the marketing of cattle, swine, lambs, and products

of such livestock, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 30, 1999

Mr. LUGAR, from the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, reported the following original bill; which was read twice and placed on the

calendar

A BILL

To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish a program of mandatory market reporting for certain

meat packers regarding the prices, quantities, and terms

of sale for the procurement of cattle, swine, lambs, and

products of such livestock, to improve the collection of

information regarding the marketing of cattle, swine,

lambs, and products of such livestock, and for other

purposes.
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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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—LIVESTOCK MANDATORY REPORTING

Sec. 101. Livestock mandatory reporting.

‘‘Subtitle B—Livestock Mandatory Reporting

‘‘CHAPTER 1—PURPOSE; DEFINITIONS

‘‘Sec. 211. Purpose.

‘‘Sec. 212. Definitions.

‘‘CHAPTER 2—CATTLE REPORTING

‘‘Sec. 221. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 222. Mandatory reporting for live cattle.

‘‘Sec. 223. Mandatory packer reporting of boxed beef sales.

‘‘CHAPTER 3—SWINE REPORTING

‘‘Sec. 231. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 232. Mandatory reporting for swine.

‘‘CHAPTER 4—LAMB REPORTING

‘‘Sec. 241. Mandatory reporting for lambs.

‘‘CHAPTER 5—ADMINISTRATION

‘‘Sec. 251. General provisions.

‘‘Sec. 252. Unlawful acts.

‘‘Sec. 253. Enforcement.

‘‘Sec. 254. Fees.

‘‘Sec. 255. Recordkeeping.

‘‘Sec. 256. Voluntary reporting.

‘‘Sec. 257. Publication of information on retail purchase prices for representative meat products.

‘‘Sec. 258. Suspension authority regarding specific terms of price reporting

requirements.

‘‘Sec. 259. Federal preemption.

Sec. 102. Unjust disqualification.

Sec. 103. Conforming amendments.
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TITLE II—RELATED BEEF REPORTING PROVISIONS

Sec. 201. Beef export reporting.

Sec. 202. Export certificates for meat and meat food products.

Sec. 203. Imports of beef, beef variety meats, and cattle.

Sec. 204. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE III—RELATED SWINE REPORTING PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Improvement of Hogs and Pigs Inventory Report.

Sec. 302. Barrow and gilt slaughter.

Sec. 303. Average trim loss correlation study and report.

Sec. 304. Swine packer marketing contracts.

Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations.

TITLE IV—IMPLEMENTATION

Sec. 401. Regulations.

Sec. 402. Termination of authority.

1 TITLE I—LIVESTOCK

2 MANDATORY REPORTING

3 SEC. 101. LIVESTOCK MANDATORY REPORTING.

4 The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C.

5 1621 et seq.) is amended—

6 (1) by inserting before section 202 (7 U.S.C.

7 1621) the following:

8 ‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions’’;

9 and

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

11 ‘‘Subtitle B—Livestock Mandatory

12 Reporting

13 ‘‘CHAPTER 1—PURPOSE; DEFINITIONS

14 ‘‘SEC. 211. PURPOSE.

15 ‘‘The purpose of this subtitle is to establish a pro16 gram of information regarding the marketing of cattle,

17 swine, lambs, and products of such livestock that—
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1 ‘‘(1) provides information that can be readily

2 understood by producers, packers, and other market

3 participants, including information with respect to

4 the pricing, contracting for purchase, and supply

5 and demand conditions for livestock, livestock pro6 duction, and livestock products;

7 ‘‘(2) improves the price and supply reporting

8 services of the Department of Agriculture; and

9 ‘‘(3) encourages competition in the marketplace

10 for livestock and livestock products.

11 ‘‘SEC. 212. DEFINITIONS.

12 ‘‘In this subtitle:

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

14 means the price paid for livestock, delivered at the

15 packing plant, before application of any premiums or

16 discounts, expressed in dollars per hundred pounds

17 of carcass weight.

18 ‘‘(2) BASIS LEVEL.—The term ‘basis level’

19 means the agreed-on adjustment to a future price to

20 establish the final price paid for livestock.

21 ‘‘(3) CURRENT SLAUGHTER WEEK.—The term

22 ‘current slaughter week’ means the period beginning

23 Monday, and ending Sunday, of the week in which

24 a reporting day occurs.
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1 ‘‘(4) F.O.B.—The term ‘F.O.B.’ means free on

2 board, regardless of the mode of transportation, at

3 the point of direct shipment by the seller to the

4 buyer.

5 ‘‘(5) LIVESTOCK.—The term ‘livestock’ means

6 cattle, swine, and lambs.

7 ‘‘(6) LOT.—The term ‘lot’ means a group of 1

8 or more livestock that is identified for the purpose

9 of a single transaction between a buyer and a seller.

10 ‘‘(7) MARKETING.—The term ‘marketing’

11 means the sale or other disposition of livestock, live12 stock products, or meat or meat food products in

13 commerce.

14 ‘‘(8) NEGOTIATED PURCHASE.—The term ‘ne15 gotiated purchase’ means a cash or spot market pur16 chase by a packer of livestock from a producer under

17 which—

18 ‘‘(A) the base price for the livestock is de19 termined by seller-buyer interaction and agree20 ment on a day; and

21 ‘‘(B) the livestock are scheduled for deliv22 ery to the packer not later than 14 days after

23 the date on which the livestock are committed

24 to the packer.
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1 ‘‘(9) NEGOTIATED SALE.—The term ‘negotiated

2 sale’ means a cash or spot market sale by a pro3 ducer of livestock to a packer under which—

4 ‘‘(A) the base price for the livestock is de5 termined by seller-buyer interaction and agree6 ment on a day; and

7 ‘‘(B) the livestock are scheduled for deliv8 ery to the packer not later than 14 days after

9 the date on which the livestock are committed

10 to the packer.

11 ‘‘(10) PRIOR SLAUGHTER WEEK.—The term

12 ‘prior slaughter week’ means the Monday through

13 Sunday prior to a reporting day.

14 ‘‘(11) PRODUCER.—The term ‘producer’ means

15 any person engaged in the business of selling live16 stock to a packer for slaughter (including the sale of

17 livestock from a packer to another packer).

18 ‘‘(12) REPORTING DAY.—The term ‘reporting

19 day’ means a day on which—

20 ‘‘(A) a packer conducts business regarding

21 livestock committed to the packer, or livestock

22 purchased, sold, or slaughtered by the packer;

23 ‘‘(B) the Secretary is required to make in24 formation concerning the business described in

25 subparagraph (A) available to the public; and
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1 ‘‘(C) the Department of Agriculture is

2 open to conduct business.

3 ‘‘(13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’

4 means the Secretary of Agriculture.

5 ‘‘(14) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of

6 the 50 States.

7 ‘‘CHAPTER 2—CATTLE REPORTING

8 ‘‘SEC. 221. DEFINITIONS.

9 ‘‘In this chapter:

10 ‘‘(1) CATTLE COMMITTED.—The term ‘cattle

11 committed’ means cattle that are scheduled to be de12 livered to a packer within the 7-day period beginning

13 on the date of an agreement to sell the cattle.

14 ‘‘(2) CATTLE TYPE.—The term ‘cattle type’

15 means the following types of cattle purchased for

16 slaughter:

17 ‘‘(A) Fed steers.

18 ‘‘(B) Fed heifers.

19 ‘‘(C) Fed Holsteins and other fed dairy

20 steers and heifers.

21 ‘‘(D) Cows.

22 ‘‘(E) Bulls.

23 ‘‘(3) FORMULA MARKETING ARRANGEMENT.—

24 The term ‘formula marketing arrangement’ means

25 the advance commitment of cattle for slaughter by
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1 any means other than through a negotiated purchase

2 or a forward contract, using a method for calcu3 lating price in which the price is determined at a fu4 ture date.

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

6 contract’ means—

7 ‘‘(A) an agreement for the purchase of cat8 tle, executed in advance of slaughter, under

9 which the base price is established by reference

10 to—

11 ‘‘(i) prices quoted on the Chicago

12 Mercantile Exchange; or

13 ‘‘(ii) other comparable publicly avail14 able prices; or

15 ‘‘(B) such other forward contract as the

16 Secretary determines to be applicable.

17 ‘‘(5) PACKER.—The term ‘packer’ means any

18 person engaged in the business of buying cattle in

19 commerce for purposes of slaughter, of manufac20 turing or preparing meats or meat food products

21 from cattle for sale or shipment in commerce, or of

22 marketing meats or meat food products from cattle

23 in an unmanufactured form acting as a wholesale

24 broker, dealer, or distributor in commerce, except

25 that—
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1 ‘‘(A) the term includes only a cattle proc2 essing plant that is federally inspected;

3 ‘‘(B) for any calendar year, the term in4 cludes only a cattle processing plant that

5 slaughtered an average of at least 125,000 head

6 of cattle per year during the immediately pre7 ceding 5 calendar years; and

8 ‘‘(C) in the case of a cattle processing

9 plant that did not slaughter cattle during the

10 immediately preceding 5 calendar years, the

11 Secretary shall consider the plant capacity of

12 the processing plant in determining whether the

13 processing plant should be considered a packer

14 under this chapter.

15 ‘‘(6) PACKER-OWNED CATTLE.—The term

16 ‘packer-owned cattle’ means cattle that a packer

17 owns for at least 14 days immediately before slaugh18 ter.

19 ‘‘(7) TERMS OF TRADE.—The term ‘terms of

20 trade’ includes, with respect to the purchase of cat21 tle for slaughter—

22 ‘‘(A) whether a packer provided any fi23 nancing agreement or arrangement with regard

24 to the cattle;
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1 ‘‘(B) whether the delivery terms specified

2 the location of the producer or the location of

3 the packer’s plant;

4 ‘‘(C) whether the producer is able to uni5 laterally specify the date and time during the

6 business day of the packer that the cattle are

7 to be delivered for slaughter; and

8 ‘‘(D) the percentage of cattle purchased by

9 a packer as a negotiated purchase that are de10 livered to the plant for slaughter more than 7

11 days, but fewer than 14 days, after the earlier

12 of—

13 ‘‘(i) the date on which the cattle were

14 committed to the packer; or

15 ‘‘(ii) the date on which the cattle were

16 purchased by the packer.

17 ‘‘(8) TYPE OF PURCHASE.—The term ‘type of

18 purchase’, with respect to cattle, means—

19 ‘‘(A) a negotiated purchase;

20 ‘‘(B) a formula market arrangement; and

21 ‘‘(C) a forward contract.

22 ‘‘SEC. 222. MANDATORY REPORTING FOR LIVE CATTLE.

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab24 lish a program of live cattle price information reporting

25 that will—
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1 ‘‘(1) provide timely, accurate, and reliable mar2 ket information;

3 ‘‘(2) facilitate more informed marketing deci4 sions; and

5 ‘‘(3) promote competition in the cattle slaugh6 tering industry.

7 ‘‘(b) GENERAL REPORTING PROVISIONS APPLICABLE

8 TO PACKERS AND THE SECRETARY.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the prices or

10 quantities of cattle are required to be reported or

11 published under this section, the prices or quantities

12 shall be categorized so as to clearly delineate—

13 ‘‘(A) the prices or quantities, as applicable,

14 of the cattle purchased in the domestic market;

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) the prices or quantities, as applicable,

17 of imported cattle.

18 ‘‘(2) PACKER-OWNED CATTLE.—Information re19 quired under this section for packer-owned cattle

20 shall include quantity and carcass characteristics,

21 but not price.

22 ‘‘(c) DAILY REPORTING.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The corporate officers or

24 officially designated representatives of each packer

25 processing plant shall report to the Secretary at
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1 least twice each reporting day (including once not

2 later than 10:00 a.m. Central Time and once not

3 later than 2:00 p.m. Central Time) the following in4 formation for each cattle type:

5 ‘‘(A) The prices for cattle (per hundred6 weight) established on that day, categorized

7 by—

8 ‘‘(i) type of purchase;

9 ‘‘(ii) the quantity of cattle purchased

10 on a live weight basis;

11 ‘‘(iii) the quantity of cattle purchased

12 on a dressed weight basis;

13 ‘‘(iv) a range of the estimated live

14 weights of the cattle purchased;

15 ‘‘(v) an estimate of the percentage of

16 the cattle purchased that were of a quality

17 grade of choice or better; and

18 ‘‘(vi) any premiums or discounts asso19 ciated with—

20 ‘‘(I) weight, grade, or yield; or

21 ‘‘(II) any type of purchase.

22 ‘‘(B) The quantity of cattle delivered to

23 the packer (quoted in numbers of head) on that

24 day, categorized by—

25 ‘‘(i) type of purchase;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the quantity of cattle delivered

2 on a live weight basis; and

3 ‘‘(iii) the quantity of cattle delivered

4 on a dressed weight basis.

5 ‘‘(C) The quantity of cattle committed to

6 the packer (quoted in numbers of head) as of

7 that day, categorized by—

8 ‘‘(i) type of purchase;

9 ‘‘(ii) the quantity of cattle committed

10 on a live weight basis; and

11 ‘‘(iii) the quantity of cattle committed

12 on a dressed weight basis.

13 ‘‘(D) The terms of trade regarding the cat14 tle, as applicable.

15 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make

16 the information available to the public not less fre17 quently than 3 times each reporting day.

18 ‘‘(d) WEEKLY REPORTING.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The corporate officers or

20 officially designated representatives of each packer

21 processing plant shall report to the Secretary, on the

22 first reporting day of each week, not later than 9:00

23 a.m. Central Time, the following information appli24 cable to the prior slaughter week:
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1 ‘‘(A) The quantity of cattle purchased

2 through a forward contract that were slaugh3 tered.

4 ‘‘(B) The quantity of cattle delivered under

5 a formula marketing arrangement that were

6 slaughtered.

7 ‘‘(C) The quantity and carcass characteris8 tics of packer-owned cattle that were slaugh9 tered.

10 ‘‘(D) The quantity, basis level, and delivery

11 month for all cattle purchased through forward

12 contracts that were agreed to by the parties.

13 ‘‘(E) The range and average of intended

14 premiums and discounts that are expected to be

15 in effect for the current slaughter week.

16 ‘‘(2) FORMULA PURCHASES.—The corporate of17 ficers or officially designated representatives of each

18 packer processing plant shall report to the Sec19 retary, on the first reporting day of each week, not

20 later than 9:00 a.m. Central Time, the following in21 formation for cattle purchased through a formula

22 marketing arrangement and slaughtered during the

23 prior slaughter week:

24 ‘‘(A) The quantity (quoted in both num25 bers of head and hundredweights) of cattle.
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1 ‘‘(B) The weighted average price paid for

2 a carcass, including applicable premiums and

3 discounts.

4 ‘‘(C) The range of premiums and discounts

5 paid.

6 ‘‘(D) The weighted average of premiums

7 and discounts paid.

8 ‘‘(E) The range of prices paid.

9 ‘‘(F) The aggregate weighted average price

10 paid for a carcass.

11 ‘‘(G) The terms of trade regarding the cat12 tle, as applicable.

13 ‘‘(3) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make

14 available to the public the information obtained

15 under paragraphs (1) and (2) on the first reporting

16 day of the current slaughter week, not later than

17 10:00 a.m. Central Time.

18 ‘‘(e) REGIONAL REPORTING OF CATTLE TYPES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall deter20 mine whether adequate data can be obtained on a

21 regional basis for fed Holsteins and other fed dairy

22 steers and heifers, cows, and bulls based on the

23 number of packers required to report under this sec24 tion.
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1 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the

2 date of enactment of this subtitle, the Secretary

3 shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the

4 House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag5 riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a

6 report on the determination of the Secretary under

7 paragraph (1).

8 ‘‘SEC. 223. MANDATORY PACKER REPORTING OF BOXED

9 BEEF SALES.

10 ‘‘(a) DAILY REPORTING.—The corporate officers or

11 officially designated representatives of each packer proc12 essing plant shall report to the Secretary at least twice

13 each reporting day (not less than once before, and once

14 after, 12:00 noon Central Time) information on total

15 boxed beef sales, including—

16 ‘‘(1) the price for each lot of each negotiated

17 boxed beef sale (determined by seller-buyer inter18 action and agreement), quoted in dollars per hun19 dredweight (on a F.O.B. plant basis);

20 ‘‘(2) the quantity for each lot of each sale,

21 quoted by number of boxes sold; and

22 ‘‘(3) information regarding the characteristics

23 of each lot of each sale, including—
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1 ‘‘(A) the grade of beef (USDA Choice or

2 better, USDA Select, or ungraded no-roll prod3 uct);

4 ‘‘(B) the cut of beef; and

5 ‘‘(C) the trim specification.

6 ‘‘(b) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make avail7 able to the public the information required to be reported

8 under subsection (a) not less frequently than twice each

9 reporting day.

10 ‘‘CHAPTER 3—SWINE REPORTING

11 ‘‘SEC. 231. DEFINITIONS.

12 ‘‘In this chapter:

13 ‘‘(1) AFFILIATE.—The term ‘affiliate’, with re14 spect to a packer, means—

15 ‘‘(A) a person that directly or indirectly

16 owns, controls, or holds with power to vote, 5

17 percent or more of the outstanding voting secu18 rities of the packer;

19 ‘‘(B) a person 5 percent or more of whose

20 outstanding voting securities are directly or in21 directly owned, controlled, or held with power to

22 vote, by the packer; and

23 ‘‘(C) a person that directly or indirectly

24 controls, or is controlled by or under common

25 control with, the packer.
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1 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE REPORTING PERIOD.—The

2 term ‘applicable reporting period’ means the period

3 of time prescribed by the prior day report, the morn4 ing report, and the afternoon report, as required

5 under section 232(c).

6 ‘‘(3) BARROW.—The term ‘barrow’ means a

7 neutered male swine.

8 ‘‘(4) BASE MARKET HOG.—The term ‘base mar9 ket hog’ means a hog for which no discounts are

10 subtracted from and no premiums are added to the

11 base price.

12 ‘‘(5) BRED FEMALE SWINE.—The term ‘bred

13 female swine’ means any female swine, whether a

14 sow or gilt, that has been mated or inseminated and

15 is assumed, or has been confirmed, to be pregnant.

16 ‘‘(6) FORMULA PRICE.—The term ‘formula

17 price’ means a price determined by a mathematical

18 formula under which the price established for a

19 specified market serves as the basis for the formula.

20 ‘‘(7) GILT.—The term ‘gilt’ means a young fe21 male swine that has not produced a litter.

22 ‘‘(8) HOG CLASS.—The term ‘hog class’ means,

23 as applicable—

24 ‘‘(A) barrows or gilts;

25 ‘‘(B) sows; or
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1 ‘‘(C) boars or stags.

2 ‘‘(9) NONCARCASS MERIT PREMIUM.—The term

3 ‘noncarcass merit premium’ means an increase in

4 the base price of the swine offered by an individual

5 packer or packing plant, based on any factor other

6 than the characteristics of the carcass, if the actual

7 amount of the premium is known before the sale and

8 delivery of the swine.

9 ‘‘(10) OTHER MARKET FORMULA PURCHASE.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘other mar11 ket formula purchase’ means a purchase of

12 swine by a packer in which the pricing mecha13 nism is a formula price based on any market

14 other than the market for swine, pork, or a

15 pork product.

16 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘other market

17 formula purchase’ includes a formula purchase

18 in a case in which the price formula is based on

19 1 or more futures or options contracts.

20 ‘‘(11) OTHER PURCHASE ARRANGEMENT.—The

21 term ‘other purchase arrangement’ means a pur22 chase of swine by a packer that—

23 ‘‘(A) is not a negotiated purchase, swine or

24 pork market formula purchase, or other market

25 formula purchase; and
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1 ‘‘(B) does not involve packer-owned swine.

2 ‘‘(12) PACKER.—The term ‘packer’ means any

3 person engaged in the business of buying swine in

4 commerce for purposes of slaughter, of manufac5 turing or preparing meats or meat food products

6 from swine for sale or shipment in commerce, or of

7 marketing meats or meat food products from swine

8 in an unmanufactured form acting as a wholesale

9 broker, dealer, or distributor in commerce, except

10 that—

11 ‘‘(A) the term includes only a swine proc12 essing plant that is federally inspected;

13 ‘‘(B) for any calendar year, the term in14 cludes only a swine processing plant that

15 slaughtered an average of at least 100,000

16 swine per year during the immediately pre17 ceding 5 calendar years; and

18 ‘‘(C) in the case of a swine processing

19 plant that did not slaughter swine during the

20 immediately preceding 5 calendar years, the

21 Secretary shall consider the plant capacity of

22 the processing plant in determining whether the

23 processing plant should be considered a packer

24 under this chapter.
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1 ‘‘(13) PACKER-OWNED SWINE.—The term

2 ‘packer-owned swine’ means swine that a packer (in3 cluding a subsidiary or affiliate of the packer) owns

4 for at least 14 days immediately before slaughter.

5 ‘‘(14) PACKER-SOLD SWINE.—The term ‘pack6 er-sold swine’ means the swine that are—

7 ‘‘(A) owned by a packer (including a sub8 sidiary or affiliate of the packer) for more than

9 14 days immediately before sale for slaughter;

10 and

11 ‘‘(B) sold for slaughter to another packer.

12 ‘‘(15) PORK.—The term ‘pork’ means the meat

13 of a porcine animal.

14 ‘‘(16) PORK PRODUCT.—The term ‘pork prod15 uct’ means a product or byproduct produced or proc16 essed in whole or in part from pork.

17 ‘‘(17) PURCHASE DATA.—The term ‘purchase

18 data’ means all of the applicable data, including

19 weight (if purchased live), for all swine purchased

20 during the applicable reporting period, regardless of

21 the expected delivery date of the swine, reported

22 by—

23 ‘‘(A) hog class;

24 ‘‘(B) type of purchase; and

25 ‘‘(C) packer-owned swine.
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1 ‘‘(18) SLAUGHTER DATA.—The term ‘slaughter

2 data’ means all of the applicable data for all swine

3 slaughtered by a packer during the applicable re4 porting period, regardless of when the price of the

5 swine was negotiated or otherwise determined, re6 ported by—

7 ‘‘(A) hog class;

8 ‘‘(B) type of purchase; and

9 ‘‘(C) packer-owned swine.

10 ‘‘(19) SOW.—The term ‘sow’ means an adult fe11 male swine that has produced 1 or more litters.

12 ‘‘(20) SWINE.—The term ‘swine’ means a por13 cine animal raised to be a feeder pig, raised for

14 seedstock, or raised for slaughter.

15 ‘‘(21) SWINE OR PORK MARKET FORMULA PUR16 CHASE.—The term ‘swine or pork market formula

17 purchase’ means a purchase of swine by a packer in

18 which the pricing mechanism is a formula price

19 based on a market for swine, pork, or a pork prod20 uct, other than a future or option for swine, pork,

21 or a pork product.

22 ‘‘(22) TYPE OF PURCHASE.—The term ‘type of

23 purchase’, with respect to swine, means—

24 ‘‘(A) a negotiated purchase;

25 ‘‘(B) other market formula purchase;
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1 ‘‘(C) a swine or pork market formula pur2 chase; and

3 ‘‘(D) other purchase arrangement.

4 ‘‘SEC. 232. MANDATORY REPORTING FOR SWINE.

5 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab6 lish a program of swine price information reporting that

7 will—

8 ‘‘(1) provide timely, accurate, and reliable mar9 ket information;

10 ‘‘(2) facilitate more informed marketing deci11 sions; and

12 ‘‘(3) promote competition in the swine slaugh13 tering industry.

14 ‘‘(b) GENERAL REPORTING PROVISIONS APPLICABLE

15 TO PACKERS AND THE SECRETARY.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab17 lish and implement a price reporting program in ac18 cordance with this section that includes the report19 ing and publication of information required under

20 this section.

21 ‘‘(2) PACKER-OWNED SWINE.—Information re22 quired under this section for packer-owned swine

23 shall include quantity and carcass characteristics,

24 but not price.
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1 ‘‘(3) PACKER-SOLD SWINE.—If information re2 garding the type of purchase is required under this

3 section, the information shall be reported according

4 to the numbers and percentages of each type of pur5 chase comprising—

6 ‘‘(A) packer-sold swine; and

7 ‘‘(B) all other swine.

8 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—

9 ‘‘(A) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall review

10 the information required to be reported by

11 packers under this section at least once every 2

12 years.

13 ‘‘(B) OUTDATED INFORMATION.—After

14 public notice and an opportunity for comment,

15 subject to subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall

16 promulgate regulations that specify additional

17 information that shall be reported under this

18 section if the Secretary determines under the

19 review under subparagraph (A) that—

20 ‘‘(i) information that is currently re21 quired no longer accurately reflects the

22 methods by which swine are valued and

23 priced by packers; or

24 ‘‘(ii) packers that slaughter a signifi25 cant majority of the swine produced in the
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1 United States no longer use backfat or

2 lean percentage factors as indicators of

3 price.

4 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—Under subparagraph

5 (B), the Secretary may not require packers to

6 provide any new or additional information

7 that—

8 ‘‘(i) is not generally available or main9 tained by packers; or

10 ‘‘(ii) would be otherwise unduly bur11 densome to provide.

12 ‘‘(c) DAILY REPORTING.—

13 ‘‘(1) PRIOR DAY REPORT.—

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

15 or officially designated representatives of each

16 packer processing plant shall report to the Sec17 retary, for each business day of the packer,

18 such information as the Secretary determines

19 necessary and appropriate to—

20 ‘‘(i) comply with the publication re21 quirements of this section; and

22 ‘‘(ii) provide for the timely access to

23 the information by producers, packers, and

24 other market participants.
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1 ‘‘(B) REPORTING DEADLINE AND PLANTS

2 REQUIRED TO REPORT.—Not later than 7:00

3 a.m. Central Time on each reporting day, a

4 packer required to report under subparagraph

5 (A) shall report information regarding all swine

6 purchased, priced, or slaughtered during the

7 prior business day of the packer.

8 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The in9 formation from the prior business day of a

10 packer required under this paragraph shall

11 include—

12 ‘‘(i) all purchase data, including—

13 ‘‘(I) the total number of—

14 ‘‘(aa) swine purchased; and

15 ‘‘(bb) swine scheduled for

16 delivery; and

17 ‘‘(II) the base price and purchase

18 data for slaughtered swine for which a

19 price has been established;

20 ‘‘(ii) all slaughter data for the total

21 number of swine slaughtered, including—

22 ‘‘(I) information concerning the

23 net price, which shall be equal to the

24 total amount paid by a packer to a

25 producer (including all premiums, less
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1 all discounts) per hundred pounds of

2 carcass weight of swine delivered at

3 the plant—

4 ‘‘(aa) including any sum de5 ducted from the price per hun6 dredweight paid to a producer

7 that reflects the repayment of a

8 balance owed by the producer to

9 the packer or the accumulation of

10 a balance to later be repaid by

11 the packer to the producer; and

12 ‘‘(bb) excluding any sum

13 earlier paid to a producer that

14 must later be repaid to the pack15 er;

16 ‘‘(II) information concerning the

17 average net price, which shall be equal

18 to the quotient (stated per hundred

19 pounds of carcass weight of swine) ob20 tained by dividing—

21 ‘‘(aa) the total amount paid

22 for the swine slaughtered at a

23 packing plant during the applica24 ble reporting period, including all

25 premiums and discounts, and in-
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1 cluding any sum deducted from

2 the price per hundredweight paid

3 to a producer that reflects the re4 payment of a balance owed by

5 the producer to the packer, or

6 the accumulation of a balance to

7 later be repaid by the packer to

8 the producer, less all discounts;

9 by

10 ‘‘(bb) the total carcass

11 weight (in hundred pound incre12 ments) of the swine;

13 ‘‘(III) information concerning the

14 lowest net price, which shall be equal

15 to the lowest net price paid for a sin16 gle lot or a group of swine slaughtered

17 at a packing plant during the applica18 ble reporting period per hundred

19 pounds of carcass weight of swine;

20 ‘‘(IV) information concerning the

21 highest net price, which shall be equal

22 to the highest net price paid for a sin23 gle lot or group of swine slaughtered

24 at a packing plant during the applica-
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1 ble reporting period per hundred

2 pounds of carcass weight of swine;

3 ‘‘(V) the average carcass weight,

4 which shall be equal to the quotient

5 obtained by dividing—

6 ‘‘(aa) the total carcass

7 weight of the swine slaughtered

8 at the packing plant during the

9 applicable reporting period; by

10 ‘‘(bb) the number of the

11 swine described in item (aa);

12 adjusted for special slaughter situa13 tions (such as skinning or foot re14 moval), as the Secretary determines

15 necessary to render comparable car16 cass weights;

17 ‘‘(VI) the average sort loss,

18 which shall be equal to the average

19 discount (in dollars per hundred

20 pounds carcass weight) for swine

21 slaughtered during the applicable re22 porting period, resulting from the fact

23 that the swine did not fall within the

24 individual packer’s established carcass

25 weight or lot variation range;
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1 ‘‘(VII) the average backfat, which

2 shall be equal to the average of the

3 backfat thickness (in inches) meas4 ured between the third and fourth

5 from the last ribs, 7 centimeters from

6 the carcass split (or adjusted from the

7 individual packer’s measurement to

8 that reference point using an adjust9 ment made by the Secretary) of the

10 swine slaughtered during the applica11 ble reporting period;

12 ‘‘(VIII) the average lean percent13 age, which shall be equal to the aver14 age percentage of the carcass weight

15 comprised of lean meat for the swine

16 slaughtered during the applicable re17 porting period, except that when a

18 packer is required to report the aver19 age lean percentage under this sub20 clause, the packer shall make avail21 able to the Secretary the underlying

22 data, applicable methodology and for23 mulae, and supporting materials used

24 to determine the average lean percent25 age, which the Secretary may convert
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1 to the carcass measurements or lean

2 percentage of the swine of the indi3 vidual packer to correlate to a com4 mon percent lean measurement; and

5 ‘‘(IX) the total slaughter quan6 tity, which shall be equal to the total

7 number of swine slaughtered during

8 the applicable reporting period, in9 cluding all types of purchases and

10 packer-owned swine; and

11 ‘‘(iii) packer purchase commitments,

12 which shall be equal to the number of

13 swine scheduled for delivery to a packer for

14 slaughter for each of the next 14 calendar

15 days.

16 ‘‘(D) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall

17 publish the information obtained under this

18 paragraph in a prior day report not later than

19 8:00 a.m. Central Time on the reporting day on

20 which the information is received from the

21 packer.

22 ‘‘(2) MORNING REPORT.—

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

24 or officially designated representatives of each

25 packer processing plant shall report to the Sec-
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1 retary not later than 10:00 a.m. Central Time

2 each reporting day—

3 ‘‘(i) the packer’s best estimate of the

4 total number of swine, and packer-owned

5 swine, expected to be purchased through6 out the reporting day through each type of

7 purchase;

8 ‘‘(ii) the total number of swine, and

9 packer-owned swine, purchased up to that

10 time of the reporting day through each

11 type of purchase;

12 ‘‘(iii) the base price paid for all base

13 market hogs purchased up to that time of

14 the reporting day through negotiated pur15 chases; and

16 ‘‘(iv) the base price paid for all base

17 market hogs purchased through each type

18 of purchase other than negotiated purchase

19 up to that time of the reporting day, un20 less such information is unavailable due to

21 pricing that is determined on a delayed

22 basis.

23 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall

24 publish the information obtained under this

25 paragraph in the morning report as soon as
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1 practicable, but not later than 11:00 a.m. Cen2 tral Time, on each reporting day.

3 ‘‘(3) AFTERNOON REPORT.—

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

5 or officially designated representatives of each

6 packer processing plant shall report to the Sec7 retary not later than 2:00 p.m. Central Time

8 each reporting day—

9 ‘‘(i) the packer’s best estimate of the

10 total number of swine, and packer-owned

11 swine, expected to be purchased through12 out the reporting day through each type of

13 purchase;

14 ‘‘(ii) the total number of swine, and

15 packer-owned swine, purchased up to that

16 time of the reporting day through each

17 type of purchase;

18 ‘‘(iii) the base price paid for all base

19 market hogs purchased up to that time of

20 the reporting day through negotiated pur21 chases; and

22 ‘‘(iv) the base price paid for all base

23 market hogs purchased up to that time of

24 the reporting day through each type of

25 purchase other than negotiated purchase,
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1 unless such information is unavailable due

2 to pricing that is determined on a delayed

3 basis.

4 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall

5 publish the information obtained under this

6 paragraph in the afternoon report as soon as

7 practicable, but not later than 3:00 p.m. Cen8 tral Time, on each reporting day.

9 ‘‘(d) WEEKLY NONCARCASS MERIT PREMIUM RE10 PORT.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4:00 p.m.

12 Central Time on the first reporting day of each

13 week, the corporate officers or officially designated

14 representatives of each packer processing plant shall

15 report to the Secretary a noncarcass merit premium

16 report that lists—

17 ‘‘(A) each category of standard noncarcass

18 merit premiums used by the packer in the prior

19 slaughter week; and

20 ‘‘(B) the amount (in dollars per hundred

21 pounds of carcass weight) paid to producers by

22 the packer, by category.

23 ‘‘(2) PREMIUM LIST.—A packer shall maintain

24 and make available to a producer, on request, a cur25 rent listing of the dollar values (per hundred pounds
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•S 1672 RS

1 of carcass weight) of each noncarcass merit premium

2 used by the packer during the current or the prior

3 slaughter week.

4 ‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY.—A packer shall not be re5 quired to pay a listed noncarcass merit premium to

6 a producer that meets the requirements for the pre7 mium if the need for swine in a given category is

8 filled at a particular point in time.

9 ‘‘(4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall pub10 lish the information obtained under this subsection

11 as soon as practicable, but not later than 5:00 p.m.

12 Central Time, on the first reporting day of each

13 week.

14 ‘‘CHAPTER 4—LAMB REPORTING

15 ‘‘SEC. 241. MANDATORY REPORTING FOR LAMBS.

16 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary may establish

17 a program of mandatory lamb price information reporting

18 that will—

19 ‘‘(1) provide timely, accurate, and reliable mar20 ket information;

21 ‘‘(2) facilitate more informed marketing deci22 sions; and

23 ‘‘(3) promote competition in the lamb slaugh24 tering industry.
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1 ‘‘(b) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—If the Secretary es2 tablishes a mandatory price reporting program under sub3 section (a), the Secretary shall provide an opportunity for

4 comment on proposed regulations to establish the program

5 during the 30-day period beginning on the date of the pub6 lication of the proposed regulations.

7 ‘‘CHAPTER 5—ADMINISTRATION

8 ‘‘SEC. 251. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

9 ‘‘(a) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall make

10 available to the public information, statistics, and docu11 ments obtained from, or submitted by, packers, retail enti12 ties, and other persons under this subtitle in a manner

13 that ensures that confidentiality is preserved regarding—

14 ‘‘(1) the identity of persons, including parties to

15 a contract; and

16 ‘‘(2) proprietary business information.

17 ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EM18 PLOYEES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

20 no officer, employee, or agent of the United States

21 shall, without the consent of the packer or other per22 son concerned, divulge or make known in any man23 ner, any facts or information regarding the business

24 of the packer or other person that was acquired

25 through reporting required under this subtitle.
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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Information obtained by

2 the Secretary under this subtitle may be disclosed—

3 ‘‘(A) to agents or employees of the Depart4 ment of Agriculture in the course of their offi5 cial duties under this subtitle;

6 ‘‘(B) as directed by the Secretary or the

7 Attorney General, for enforcement purposes; or

8 ‘‘(C) by a court of competent jurisdiction.

9 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE UNDER FREEDOM OF INFOR10 MATION ACT.—Notwithstanding any other provision

11 of law, no facts or information obtained under this

12 subtitle shall be disclosed in accordance with section

13 552 of title 5, United States Code.

14 ‘‘(c) REPORTING BY PACKERS.—A packer shall re15 port all information required under this subtitle on an in16 dividual lot basis.

17 ‘‘(d) REGIONAL REPORTING AND AGGREGATION.—

18 The Secretary shall make information obtained under this

19 subtitle available to the public only in a manner that—

20 ‘‘(1) ensures that the information is published

21 on a national and a regional or statewide basis as

22 the Secretary determines to be appropriate;

23 ‘‘(2) ensures that the identity of a reporting

24 person is not disclosed; and
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•S 1672 RS

1 ‘‘(3) conforms to aggregation guidelines estab2 lished by the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(e) ADJUSTMENTS.—Prior to the publication of any

4 information required under this subtitle, the Secretary

5 may make reasonable adjustments in information reported

6 by packers to reflect price aberrations or other unusual

7 or unique occurrences that the Secretary determines would

8 distort the published information to the detriment of pro9 ducers, packers, or other market participants.

10 ‘‘(f) VERIFICATION.—The Secretary shall take such

11 actions as the Secretary considers necessary to verify the

12 accuracy of the information submitted or reported under

13 chapter 2, 3, or 4.

14 ‘‘(g) ELECTRONIC REPORTING AND PUBLISHING.—

15 The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable,

16 provide for the reporting and publishing of the information

17 required under this subtitle by electronic means.

18 ‘‘(h) REPORTING OF ACTIVITIES ON WEEKENDS AND

19 HOLIDAYS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Livestock committed to a

21 packer, or purchased, sold, or slaughtered by a pack22 er, on a weekend day or holiday shall be reported by

23 the packer to the Secretary (to the extent required

24 under this subtitle), and reported by the Secretary,

25 on the immediately following reporting day.
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•S 1672 RS

1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON REPORTING BY PACK2 ERS.—A packer shall not be required to report ac3 tions under paragraph (1) more than once on the

4 immediately following reporting day.

5 ‘‘(i) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this sub6 title, the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999, or

7 amendments made by that Act restricts or modifies the

8 authority of the Secretary to—

9 ‘‘(1) administer or enforce the Packers and

10 Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.);

11 ‘‘(2) administer, enforce, or collect voluntary re12 ports under this title or any other law; or

13 ‘‘(3) access documentary evidence as provided

14 under sections 9 and 10 of the Federal Trade Com15 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 49, 50).

16 ‘‘SEC. 252. UNLAWFUL ACTS.

17 ‘‘It shall be unlawful and a violation of this subtitle

18 for any packer or other person subject to this subtitle (in

19 the submission of information required under chapter 2,

20 3, or 4, as determined by the Secretary) to willfully—

21 ‘‘(1) fail or refuse to provide, or delay the time22 ly reporting of, accurate information to the Sec23 retary (including estimated information);

24 ‘‘(2) solicit or request that a packer, the buyer

25 or seller of livestock or livestock products, or any
40

•S 1672 RS

1 other person fail to provide, as a condition of any

2 transaction, accurate or timely information required

3 under this subtitle;

4 ‘‘(3) fail or refuse to comply with this subtitle;

5 or

6 ‘‘(4) report estimated information in any report

7 required under this subtitle in a manner that dem8 onstrates a pattern of significant variance in accu9 racy when compared to the actual information that

10 is reported for the same reporting period, or as de11 termined by any audit, oversight, or other

12 verification procedures of the Secretary.

13 ‘‘SEC. 253. ENFORCEMENT.

14 ‘‘(a) CIVIL PENALTY.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any packer or other person

16 that violates this subtitle may be assessed a civil

17 penalty by the Secretary of not more than $10,000

18 for each violation.

19 ‘‘(2) CONTINUING VIOLATION.—Each day dur20 ing which a violation continues shall be considered to

21 be a separate violation.

22 ‘‘(3) FACTORS.—In determining the amount of

23 a civil penalty to be assessed under paragraph (1),

24 the Secretary shall consider the gravity of the of25 fense, the size of the business involved, and the ef-
41

•S 1672 RS

1 fect of the penalty on the ability of the person that

2 has committed the violation to continue in business.

3 ‘‘(4) MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS.—In determining

4 whether to assess a civil penalty under paragraph

5 (1), the Secretary shall consider whether a packer or

6 other person subject to this subtitle has engaged in

7 a pattern of errors, delays, or omissions in violation

8 of this subtitle.

9 ‘‘(b) CEASE AND DESIST.—In addition to, or in lieu

10 of, a civil penalty under subsection (a), the Secretary may

11 issue an order to cease and desist from continuing any

12 violation.

13 ‘‘(c) NOTICE AND HEARING.—No penalty shall be as14 sessed, or cease and desist order issued, by the Secretary

15 under this section unless the person against which the

16 penalty is assessed or to which the order is issued is given

17 notice and opportunity for a hearing before the Secretary

18 with respect to the violation.

19 ‘‘(d) FINALITY AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The order of the Secretary

21 assessing a civil penalty or issuing a cease and desist

22 order under this section shall be final and conclusive

23 unless the affected person files an appeal of the

24 order of the Secretary in United States district court
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1 not later than 30 days after the date of the issuance

2 of the order.

3 ‘‘(2) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—A finding of the

4 Secretary under this section shall be set aside only

5 if the finding is found to be unsupported by substan6 tial evidence.

7 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, after the lapse of the

9 period allowed for appeal or after the affirmance of

10 a penalty assessed under this section, the person

11 against which the civil penalty is assessed fails to

12 pay the penalty, the Secretary may refer the matter

13 to the Attorney General who may recover the pen14 alty by an action in United States district court.

15 ‘‘(2) FINALITY.—In the action, the final order

16 of the Secretary shall not be subject to review.

17 ‘‘(f) INJUNCTION OR RESTRAINING ORDER.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary has reason

19 to believe that any person subject to this subtitle has

20 failed or refused to provide the Secretary informa21 tion required to be reported pursuant to this sub22 title, and that it would be in the public interest to

23 enjoin the person from further failure to comply

24 with the reporting requirements, the Secretary may

25 notify the Attorney General of the failure.
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•S 1672 RS

1 ‘‘(2) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney Gen2 eral may apply to the appropriate district court of

3 the United States for a temporary or permanent in4 junction or restraining order.

5 ‘‘(3) COURT.—When needed to carry out this

6 subtitle, the court shall, on a proper showing, issue

7 a temporary injunction or restraining order without

8 bond.

9 ‘‘(g) FAILURE TO OBEY ORDERS.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a person subject to this

11 subtitle fails to obey a cease and desist or civil pen12 alty order issued under this subsection after the

13 order has become final and unappealable, or after

14 the appropriate United States district court has en15 tered a final judgment in favor of the Secretary, the

16 United States may apply to the appropriate district

17 court for enforcement of the order.

18 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—If the court determines

19 that the order was lawfully made and duly served

20 and that the person violated the order, the court

21 shall enforce the order.

22 ‘‘(3) CIVIL PENALTY.—If the court finds that

23 the person violated the cease and desist provisions of

24 the order, the person shall be subject to a civil pen25 alty of not more than $10,000 for each offense.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 254. FEES.

2 ‘‘The Secretary shall not charge or assess a user fee,

3 transaction fee, service charge, assessment, reimburse4 ment, or any other fee for the submission or reporting of

5 information, for the receipt or availability of, or access to,

6 published reports or information, or for any other activity

7 required under this subtitle.

8 ‘‘SEC. 255. RECORDKEEPING.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), each

10 packer required to report information to the Secretary

11 under this subtitle shall maintain, and make available to

12 the Secretary on request, for 2 years—

13 ‘‘(1) the original contracts, agreements, receipts

14 and other records associated with any transaction

15 relating to the purchase, sale, pricing, transpor16 tation, delivery, weighing, slaughter, or carcass char17 acteristics of all livestock; and

18 ‘‘(2) such records or other information as is

19 necessary or appropriate to verify the accuracy of

20 the information required to be reported under this

21 subtitle.

22 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—Under subsection (a)(2), the

23 Secretary may not require a packer to provide new or ad24 ditional information if—

25 ‘‘(1) the information is not generally available

26 or maintained by packers; or
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1 ‘‘(2) the provision of the information would be

2 unduly burdensome.

3 ‘‘(c) PURCHASES OF CATTLE OR SWINE.—A record

4 of a purchase of a lot of cattle or a lot of swine by a packer

5 shall evidence whether the purchase occurred—

6 ‘‘(1) before 10:00 a.m. Central Time;

7 ‘‘(2) between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Central

8 Time; or

9 ‘‘(3) after 2:00 p.m. Central Time.

10 ‘‘SEC. 256. VOLUNTARY REPORTING.

11 ‘‘The Secretary shall encourage voluntary reporting

12 by packers (as defined in section 201 of the Packers and

13 Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 191)) to which the man14 datory reporting requirements of this subtitle do not

15 apply.

16 ‘‘SEC. 257. PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION ON RETAIL PUR17 CHASE PRICES FOR REPRESENTATIVE MEAT

18 PRODUCTS.

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 90

20 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle, the Sec21 retary shall compile and publish at least monthly (weekly,

22 if practicable) information on retail prices for representa23 tive food products made from beef, pork, chicken, turkey,

24 veal, or lamb.
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1 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION.—The report published by the

2 Secretary under subsection (a) shall include—

3 ‘‘(1) information on retail prices for each rep4 resentative food product described in subsection (a);

5 and

6 ‘‘(2) information on total sales quantity (in

7 pounds and dollars) for each representative food

8 product.

9 ‘‘(c) MEAT PRICE SPREADS REPORT.—During the

10 period ending 2 years after the initial publication of the

11 report required under subsection (a), the Secretary shall

12 continue to publish the Meat Price Spreads Report in the

13 same manner as the Report was published before the date

14 of enactment of this subtitle.

15 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To ensure the accuracy of

17 the reports required under subsection (a), the Sec18 retary shall obtain the information for the reports

19 from 1 or more sources including—

20 ‘‘(A) a consistently representative set of re21 tail transactions; and

22 ‘‘(B) both prices and sales quantities for

23 the transactions.

24 ‘‘(2) SOURCE OF INFORMATION.—The Sec25 retary may—
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1 ‘‘(A) obtain the information from retailers

2 or commercial information sources; and

3 ‘‘(B) use valid statistical sampling proce4 dures, if necessary.

5 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS.—In providing information

6 on retail prices under this section, the Secretary

7 may make adjustments to take into account dif8 ferences in—

9 ‘‘(A) the geographic location of consump10 tion;

11 ‘‘(B) the location of the principal source of

12 supply;

13 ‘‘(C) distribution costs; and

14 ‘‘(D) such other factors as the Secretary

15 determines reflect a verifiable comparative retail

16 price for a representative food product.

17 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary—

18 ‘‘(1) shall collect information under this section

19 only on a voluntary basis; and

20 ‘‘(2) shall not impose a penalty on a person for

21 failure to provide the information or otherwise com22 pel a person to provide the information.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 258. SUSPENSION AUTHORITY REGARDING SPECIFIC

2 TERMS OF PRICE REPORTING REQUIRE3 MENTS.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may suspend any

5 requirement of this subtitle if the Secretary determines

6 that application of the requirement is inconsistent with the

7 purposes of this subtitle.

8 ‘‘(b) SUSPENSION PROCEDURE.—

9 ‘‘(1) PERIOD.—A suspension under subsection

10 (a) shall be for a period of not more than 240 days.

11 ‘‘(2) ACTION BY CONGRESS.—If an Act of Con12 gress concerning the requirement that is the subject

13 of the suspension under subsection (a) is not enacted

14 by the end of the period of the suspension estab15 lished under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall im16 plement the requirement.

17 ‘‘SEC. 259. FEDERAL PREEMPTION.

18 ‘‘In order to achieve the goals, purposes, and objec19 tives of this title on a nationwide basis and to avoid poten20 tially conflicting State laws that could impede the goals,

21 purposes, or objectives of this title, no State or political

22 subdivision of a State may impose a requirement that is

23 in addition to, or inconsistent with, any requirement of

24 this subtitle with respect to the submission or reporting

25 of information, or the publication of such information, on
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1 the prices and quantities of livestock or livestock prod2 ucts.’’.

3 SEC. 102. UNJUST DISQUALIFICATION.

4 Section 202(b) of the Packers and Stockyards Act,

5 1921 (7 U.S.C. 192(b)), is amended by striking ‘‘whatso6 ever’’ each place it appears.

7 SEC. 103. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

8 (a) Section 416 of the Packers and Stockyards Act,

9 1921 (7 U.S.C. 229a), is repealed.

10 (b) Section 1127 of the Agriculture, Rural Develop11 ment, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agen12 cies Appropriations Act, 1999 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note; Public

13 Law 105–277), is amended—

14 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the

15 following:

16 ‘‘(b) EXPORT MARKET REPORTING.—The Secretary

17 shall—

18 ‘‘(1) implement a streamlined electronic system

19 for collecting export sales and shipments data, in the

20 least intrusive manner possible, for fresh or frozen

21 muscle cuts of meat food products; and

22 ‘‘(2) develop a data-reporting program to dis23 seminate summary information in a timely manner

24 (in the case of beef, consistent with the reporting
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1 under section 602(a) of the Agricultural Trade Act

2 of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5712(a))).’’; and

3 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘this section

4 of the Act’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)’’.

5 TITLE II—RELATED BEEF

6 REPORTING PROVISIONS

7 SEC. 201. BEEF EXPORT REPORTING.

8 Section 602(a)(1) of the Agricultural Trade Act of

9 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5712(a)(1)) is amended by inserting

10 ‘‘, beef,’’ after ‘‘cotton’’.

11 SEC. 202. EXPORT CERTIFICATES FOR MEAT AND MEAT

12 FOOD PRODUCTS.

13 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

14 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall fully imple15 ment a program, through the use of a streamlined elec16 tronic online system, to issue and report export certificates

17 for all meat and meat products.

18 SEC. 203. IMPORTS OF BEEF, BEEF VARIETY MEATS, AND

19 CATTLE.

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture

21 shall—

22 (1) obtain information regarding the import of

23 beef and beef variety meats (consistent with the in24 formation categories reported for beef exports under

25 section 602(a) of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978
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1 (7 U.S.C. 5712(a))) and cattle using available infor2 mation sources; and

3 (2) publish the information in a timely manner

4 weekly and in a form that maximizes the utility of

5 the information to beef producers, packers, and

6 other market participants.

7 (b) CONTENT.—The published information shall in8 clude information reporting the year-to-date cumulative

9 annual imports of beef, beef variety meats, and cattle for

10 the current and prior marketing years.

11 SEC. 204. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

13 as are necessary to carry out sections 202 and 203.

14 TITLE III—RELATED SWINE

15 REPORTING PROVISIONS

16 SEC. 301. IMPROVEMENT OF HOGS AND PIGS INVENTORY

17 REPORT.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning not later than

19 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of Agriculture shall publish on a monthly basis the

21 Hogs and Pigs Inventory Report.

22 (b) GESTATING SOWS.—The Secretary shall include

23 in a separate category of the Report the number of bred

24 female swine that are assumed, or have been confirmed,

25 to be pregnant during the reporting period.
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1 (c) PHASE-OUT.—Effective for a period of 8 quarters

2 after the implementation of the monthly report required

3 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall continue to main4 tain and publish on a quarterly basis the Hogs and Pigs

5 Inventory Report published on or before the date of enact6 ment of this Act.

7 SEC. 302. BARROW AND GILT SLAUGHTER.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall

9 promptly obtain and maintain, through an appropriate col10 lection system or valid sampling system at packing plants,

11 information on the total slaughter of swine that reflects

12 differences in numbers between barrows and gilts, as de13 termined by the Secretary.

14 (b) AVAILABILITY.—The information shall be made

15 available to swine producers, packers, and other market

16 participants in a report published by the Secretary not less

17 frequently than weekly.

18 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall admin20 ister the collection and compilation of information,

21 and the publication of the report, required by this

22 section.

23 (2) NONDELEGATION.—The Secretary shall not

24 delegate the collection, compilation, or administra25 tion of the information required by this section to
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1 any packer (as defined in section 201 of the Packers

2 and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 191)).

3 SEC. 303. AVERAGE TRIM LOSS CORRELATION STUDY AND

4 REPORT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall

6 contract with a qualified contractor to conduct a correla7 tion study and prepare a report establishing a baseline and

8 standards for determining and improving average trim

9 loss measurements and processing techniques for pork

10 processors to employ in the slaughter of swine.

11 (b) CORRELATION STUDY AND REPORT.—The study

12 and report shall—

13 (1) analyze processing techniques that would

14 assist the pork processing industry in improving pro15 cedures for uniformity and transparency in how trim

16 loss is discounted (in dollars per hundred pounds

17 carcass weight) by different packers and processors;

18 (2) analyze slaughter inspection procedures that

19 could be improved so that trimming procedures and

20 policies of the Secretary are uniform to the max21 imum extent determined practicable by the Sec22 retary;

23 (3) determine how the Secretary may be able to

24 foster improved breeding techniques and animal han25 dling and transportation procedures through train-
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1 ing programs made available to swine producers so

2 as to minimize trim loss in slaughter processing; and

3 (4) make recommendations that are designed to

4 effect changes in the pork industry so as to achieve

5 continuous improvement in average trim losses and

6 discounts.

7 (c) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS ON STATUS OF IMPROVE8 MENTS AND UPDATES IN BASELINE.—Not less frequently

9 than once every 2 years after the initial publication of the

10 report required under this section, the Secretary shall

11 make subsequent periodic reports that—

12 (1) examine the status of the improvement in

13 reducing trim loss discounts in the pork processing

14 industry; and

15 (2) update the baseline to reflect changes in

16 trim loss discounts.

17 (d) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS TO CONGRESS, PRO18 DUCERS, PACKERS, AND OTHERS.—The reports required

19 under this section shall be made available to—

20 (1) the public on the Internet;

21 (2) the Committee on Agriculture of the House

22 of Representatives;

23 (3) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,

24 and Forestry of the Senate;

25 (4) producers and packers; and
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1 (5) other market participants.

2 SEC. 304. SWINE PACKER MARKETING CONTRACTS.

3 Title II of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7

4 U.S.C. 191 et seq.) is amended—

5 (1) by inserting before section 201 (7 U.S.C.

6 191) the following:

7 ‘‘Subtitle A—General Provisions’’;

8 and

9 (2) by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘Subtitle B—Swine Packer

11 Marketing Contracts

12 ‘‘SEC. 221. DEFINITIONS.

13 ‘‘Except as provided in section 223(a), in this sub14 title:

15 ‘‘(1) MARKET.—The term ‘market’ means the

16 sale or disposition of swine, pork, or pork products

17 in commerce.

18 ‘‘(2) PACKER.—The term ‘packer’ has the

19 meaning given the term in section 231 of the Agri20 cultural Marketing Act of 1946.

21 ‘‘(3) PORK.—The term ‘pork’ means the meat

22 of a porcine animal.

23 ‘‘(4) PORK PRODUCT.—The term ‘pork product’

24 means a product or byproduct produced or processed

25 in whole or in part from pork.
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1 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of

2 the 50 States.

3 ‘‘(6) SWINE.—The term ‘swine’ means a por4 cine animal raised to be a feeder pig, raised for

5 seedstock, or raised for slaughter.

6 ‘‘(7) TYPE OF CONTRACT.—The term ‘type of

7 contract’ means the classification of contracts or

8 risk management agreements for the purchase of

9 swine by—

10 ‘‘(A) the mechanism used to determine the

11 base price for swine committed to a packer,

12 grouped into practicable classifications by the

13 Secretary (including swine or pork market for14 mula purchases, other market formula pur15 chases, and other purchase arrangements); and

16 ‘‘(B) the presence or absence of an accrual

17 account or ledger that must be repaid by the

18 producer or packer that receives the benefit of

19 the contract pricing mechanism in relation to

20 negotiated prices.

21 ‘‘(8) OTHER TERMS.—Except as provided in

22 this subtitle, a term has the meaning given the term

23 in section 212 or 231 of the Agricultural Marketing

24 Act of 1946.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 222. SWINE PACKER MARKETING CONTRACTS OF2 FERED TO PRODUCERS.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap4 propriations to carry out this section, the Secretary shall

5 establish and maintain a library or catalog of each type

6 of contract offered by packers to swine producers for the

7 purchase of all or part of the producers’ production of

8 swine (including swine that are purchased or committed

9 for delivery), including all available noncarcass merit pre10 miums.

11 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make avail12 able to swine producers and other interested persons infor13 mation on the types of contracts described in subsection

14 (a), including notice (on a real-time basis if practicable)

15 of the types of contracts that are being offered by each

16 individual packer to, and are open to acceptance by, pro17 ducers for the purchase of swine.

18 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The reporting require19 ments under subsections (a) and (b) shall be subject to

20 the confidentiality protections provided under section 251

21 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946.

22 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION COLLECTION.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—

24 ‘‘(A) obtain (by a filing or other procedure

25 required of each individual packer) information

26 indicating what types of contracts for the pur-
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1 chase of swine are available from each packer;

2 and

3 ‘‘(B) make the information available in a

4 monthly report to swine producers and other in5 terested persons.

6 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTED SWINE NUMBERS.—Each

7 packer shall provide, and the Secretary shall collect

8 and publish in the monthly report required under

9 paragraph (1)(B), information specifying—

10 ‘‘(A) the types of existing contracts for

11 each packer;

12 ‘‘(B) the provisions contained in each con13 tract that provide for expansion in the numbers

14 of swine to be delivered under the contract for

15 the following 6-month and 12-month periods;

16 ‘‘(C) an estimate of the total number of

17 swine committed by contract for delivery to all

18 packers within the 6-month and 12-month peri19 ods following the date of the report, reported by

20 reporting region and by type of contract; and

21 ‘‘(D) an estimate of the maximum total

22 number of swine that potentially could be deliv23 ered within the 6-month and 12-month periods

24 following the date of the report under the provi25 sions described in subparagraph (B) that are
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1 included in existing contracts, reported by re2 porting region and by type of contract.

3 ‘‘(e) VIOLATIONS.—It shall be unlawful and a viola4 tion of this title for any packer to willfully fail or refuse

5 to provide to the Secretary accurate information required

6 under, or to willfully fail or refuse to comply with any re7 quirement of, this section.

8 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as necessary

10 to carry out this section.

11 ‘‘SEC. 223. REPORT ON THE SECRETARY’S JURISDICTION,

12 POWER, DUTIES, AND AUTHORITIES.

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF PACKER.—In this section, the

14 term ‘packer’ has the meaning given the term in section

15 201 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C.

16 191).

17 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date

18 of enactment of this subtitle, the Comptroller General of

19 the United States shall provide to the Committee on Agri20 culture of the House of Representatives and the Com21 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen22 ate a report describing the jurisdiction, powers, duties,

23 and authorities of the Secretary that relate to packers and

24 other persons involved in procuring, slaughtering, or proc-
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1 essing swine, pork, or pork products that are covered by

2 this Act and other laws, including—

3 ‘‘(1) the Federal Trade Commission Act (15

4 U.S.C. 41 et seq.), especially sections 6, 8, 9, and

5 10 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 46, 48, 49, 50); and

6 ‘‘(2) the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7

7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.).

8 ‘‘(c) CONTENTS.—The Comptroller General shall in9 clude in the report an analysis of—

10 ‘‘(1) burdens on and obstructions to commerce

11 in swine, pork, and pork products by packers, and

12 other persons that enter into arrangements with the

13 packers, that are contrary to, or do not protect, the

14 public interest;

15 ‘‘(2) noncompetitive pricing arrangements be16 tween or among packers, or other persons involved

17 in the processing, distribution, or sale of pork and

18 pork products, including arrangements provided for

19 in contracts for the purchase of swine;

20 ‘‘(3) the effective monitoring of contracts en21 tered into between packers and swine producers;

22 ‘‘(4) investigations that relate to, and affect,

23 the disclosure of—

24 ‘‘(A) transactions involved in the business

25 conduct and practices of packers; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the pricing of swine paid to producers

2 by packers and the pricing of products in the

3 pork and pork product merchandising chain;

4 ‘‘(5) the adequacy of the authority of the Sec5 retary to prevent a packer from unjustly or arbi6 trarily refusing to offer a producer, or disqualifying

7 a producer from eligibility for, a particular contract

8 or type of contract for the purchase of swine; and

9 ‘‘(6) the ability of the Secretary to cooperate

10 with and enhance the enforcement of actions initi11 ated by other Federal departments and agencies, or

12 Federal independent agencies, to protect trade and

13 commerce in the pork and pork product industries

14 against unlawful restraints and monopolies.’’.

15 SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

17 as are necessary to carry out this title and the amend18 ments made by this title.

19 TITLE IV—IMPLEMENTATION

20 SEC. 401. REGULATIONS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture

23 shall publish final regulations to implement this Act and

24 the amendments made by this Act.
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1 (b) PUBLICATION OF PROPOSED REGULATIONS.—

2 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this

3 Act, the Secretary shall publish proposed regulations to

4 implement this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

5 (c) COMMENT PERIOD.—The Secretary shall provide

6 an opportunity for comment on the proposed regulations

7 during the 30-day period beginning on the date of the pub8 lication of the proposed regulations.

9 (d) FINAL REGULATIONS.—Not later than 60 days

10 after the conclusion of the comment period, the Secretary

11 shall publish the final regulations and implement this Act

12 and the amendments made by this Act.

13 SEC. 402. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.

14 The authority provided by this Act and the amend15 ments made by this Act terminate 5 years after the date

16 of enactment of this Act.