Price and volume data should be made available to the public at the end of each week. Data should also include information about any subsidies. They are caused by structural deficiencies within our market system. There are proactive steps that Congress and the administration can and must take to address these problems. Price reporting by the major packers of live cattle and meat sales must be mandatory, and prices should be reported within 24 hours to provide price transparency within the United States.
Congressional action is necessary to give the secretary authority to require such reporting.
The agriculture secretary should have enhanced authority to take action against anti-competitive practices. Open-ended formula pricing should be eliminated. Packers should be prevented from owning animals for longer than the immediate time needed for slaughter, unless they can show that their activity increases the competition in the marketplace. USDA and the Commerce Department should work together to provide accurate and timely import and export information to provide price transparency at the international level. Congress should provide the agriculture secretary mandatory recall authority for any meat product which becomes contaminated.