I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5992 
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish a cattle 
contract library, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 17, 2021 
Mrs. AXNE (for herself, Mr. FEENSTRA, Mrs. HINSON, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, 
Mrs. HARTZLER, and Mr. FORTENBERRY) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to 
establish a cattle contract library, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Cattle Price Discovery 
and Transparency Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 212 of the Agricultural 
Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635a) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘cattle,’’ and 
inserting ‘‘cattle (including fed cattle),’’; 
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(2) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (6), 
(7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13), and (14) as 
paragraphs (5), (6), (7), (8), (10), (11), (12), (13), 
(15), (16), and (17), respectively; 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(4) FED
CATTLE.—The term ‘fed cattle’ 
means a steer or heifer that has been finished on a 
ration of roughage and feed concentrates, such as 
grains, protein meal, grass (forage), and other nutri-
ent-rich feeds, prior to slaughter.’’; 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so re-
designated) the following: 
‘‘(9) NEGOTIATED GRID PURCHASE.—The term 
‘negotiated grid purchase’ means a purchase of fed 
cattle by a packer from a producer under which— 
‘‘(A) the buyer-seller interaction results in 
a negotiated base price, which may be adjusted 
by premiums and discounts; and 
‘‘(B) the fed cattle are scheduled for deliv-
ery to the packer not more than 14 days after 
the date on which the agreement for purchase 
is made.’’; and 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (13) (as so re-
designated) the following: 
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‘‘(14) REGIONAL MANDATORY MINIMUM.—The 
term ‘regional mandatory minimum’ means, for each 
reporting region (as designated by the Agricultural 
Marketing Service), of the quantity of cattle pur-
chased for slaughter by a packer (as defined in sec-
tion 259(a)) in that region each current slaughter 
week, the minimum percentage of such cattle that 
are required to be purchased through negotiated 
purchases or negotiated grid purchases from pro-
ducers.’’. 
(b) CATTLE REPORTING DEFINITIONS.—Section 221 
of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 
1635d) is amended— 
(1) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(3) FORMULA MARKETING ARRANGEMENT.— 
The term ‘formula marketing arrangement’ means 
the advance commitment of cattle for slaughter— 
‘‘(A) by any means other than through a 
negotiated purchase, negotiated grid purchase, 
or forward contract; and 
‘‘(B) using a method for calculating 
price— 
‘‘(i) under which the price is deter-
mined at a future date; and 
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‘‘(ii) the basis of which is a price es-
tablished for a specified market, which 
may be based on any publicly reported 
price, including plant average price, re-
gional price, downstream price, or some 
other mutually agreeable price source.’’; 
(2) in paragraph (8)(B), by striking ‘‘market’’ 
and inserting ‘‘marketing’’; 
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), (5), 
(6), (7), and (8) as paragraphs (4), (5), (7), (8), 
(10), and (12), respectively; 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(3) CONTRACT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘contract’ 
means any agreement, written or oral, between 
a packer and a producer for the purchase of fed 
cattle for slaughter. 
‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘contract’ 
does not include a contract for a negotiated 
purchase.’’; 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (5) (as so re-
designated) the following: 
‘‘(6) HEIFER.—The term ‘heifer’ means a bo-
vine female that has not given birth to a calf.’’; 
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(6) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so re-
designated) the following: 
‘‘(9) STEER.—The term ‘steer’ means a bovine 
male castrated before reaching sexual maturity.’’; 
and 
(7) by inserting after paragraph (10) (as so re-
designated) the following: 
‘‘(11) TYPE OF CONTRACT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘type of con-
tract’ means the classification of a contract for 
the purchase of cattle— 
‘‘(i) into 1 of the categories described 
in subparagraph (B); and 
‘‘(ii) by determining the base price of 
the cattle. 
‘‘(B) CATEGORIES.—The categories for 
classification of a type of contract are the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(i) Formula marketing arrangement. 
‘‘(ii) Forward contract. 
‘‘(iii) Negotiated grid purchase con-
tract.’’. 
SEC. 3. 14-DAY CATTLE SLAUGHTER. 
(a) DEFINITION OF CATTLE COMMITTED.—Section 
221(1) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 
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U.S.C. 1635d(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘7-day’’ and in-
serting ‘‘14-day’’. 
(b) MANDATORY REPORTING FOR LIVE CATTLE.— 
Section 222(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 
(7 U.S.C. 1635e(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking subparagraphs (B) and 
(C); and 
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
subparagraph (B); 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘the informa-
tion’’ and inserting ‘‘information reported under this 
subsection’’; 
(3) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); and 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) PRIOR DAY REPORTING.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The corporate officers 
or officially designated representatives of each 
packer processing plant shall report to the Sec-
retary, for each business day of the packer 
processing plant, not later than 10:00 a.m. 
Central Time on each reporting day, the infor-
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mation from the prior business day described in 
subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) INFORMATION
REQUIRED.—The in-
formation required under subparagraph (A) 
shall be, with respect to the prior business day, 
the number of cattle, organized by cattle type, 
scheduled for delivery to a packer processing 
plant for slaughter for each of the next 14 cal-
endar days.’’. 
SEC. 4. DAILY FORMULA BASE PRICE REPORTING. 
Section 222(c)(1)(A) of the Agricultural Marketing 
Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635e(c)(1)(A)) is amended in the 
matter preceding clause (i) by inserting ‘‘(including base 
price information for cattle purchased through a formula 
marketing arrangement)’’ after ‘‘day’’. 
SEC. 5. EXPEDITED CARCASS WEIGHTS REPORTING. 
Section 222 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 
1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635e) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(f) EXPEDITED CARCASS WEIGHTS.— 
‘‘(1) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of enactment of the Cattle Price 
Discovery and Transparency Act of 2021, the Sec-
retary shall determine the minimum amount of time 
needed by the Secretary to publicly report the daily 
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average carcass weight of cattle slaughtered by pack-
er processing plants. 
‘‘(2) REPORTING.—Not later than 180 days 
after the Secretary has made a determination under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall begin publicly re-
porting the information described in that paragraph 
within the time determined under that paragraph.’’. 
SEC. 6. CATTLE CONTRACT LIBRARY. 
Chapter 2 of subtitle B of the Agricultural Marketing 
Act of 1946 is amended— 
(1) by redesignating section 223 (7 U.S.C. 
1635f) as section 224; and 
(2) by inserting after section 222 (7 U.S.C. 
1635e) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 223. CATTLE CONTRACT LIBRARY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap-
propriations to carry out this section, the Secretary shall 
establish and maintain, through the Livestock Mandatory 
Price Reporting program, a library or catalog of each type 
of contract offered by packers to producers for the pur-
chase of all or part of the production of the producers 
of fed cattle (including cattle that are purchased or com-
mitted for delivery), including any schedules of premiums 
or discounts associated with the contract. 
‘‘(b) INFORMATION COLLECTION.— 
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To maintain the library or 
catalog established under subsection (a), the Sec-
retary shall obtain information from each packer on 
each type of existing contract of the packer by re-
quiring a filing or other form of information submis-
sion from each packer. 
‘‘(2) CONTRACTED CATTLE INFORMATION.—In-
formation submitted to the Secretary by a packer 
under paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to 
each existing contract of a packer— 
‘‘(A) the type of contract; 
‘‘(B) the duration of the contract; 
‘‘(C) a summary of the contract terms; 
‘‘(D) provisions in the contract that may 
affect the price of cattle covered by the con-
tract, including schedules, premiums and dis-
counts, and transportation arrangements; 
‘‘(E) the total number of cattle covered by 
the contract solely committed to the packer 
each week within the 6-month and 12-month 
periods following the date of the contract, orga-
nized by reporting region; 
‘‘(F) in the case of a contract in which a 
specific number of cattle are not solely com-
mitted to the packer— 
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‘‘(i) an indication that the contract is 
an open commitment; and 
‘‘(ii) any weekly, monthly, annual, or 
other limitations on the number of cattle 
that may be delivered to the packer under 
the contract; and 
‘‘(G) a description of the provisions in the 
contract that provide for expansion in the num-
bers of fed cattle to be delivered under the con-
tract for the 6-month and 12-month periods fol-
lowing the date of the contract. 
‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 
publicly available to producers and other interested 
persons information (including the information de-
scribed in subsection (b)(2)), in a user-friendly for-
mat, on the types of contracts in the library or cata-
log established under subsection (a), including notice 
(on a real-time basis, if practicable) of the types of 
contracts that are being offered by packers to, and 
are open to acceptance by, producers for the pur-
chase of fed cattle. 
‘‘(2) MONTHLY REPORT.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Beginning 30 days 
after the library or catalog is established under 
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subsection (a), the Secretary shall make the in-
formation obtained each month in the library or 
catalog available in a monthly report to pro-
ducers and other interested persons. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The monthly report de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) shall include— 
‘‘(i) based on the information collected 
under subsection (b)(2)(E), an estimate by 
the Secretary of the total number of fed 
cattle committed under contracts for deliv-
ery to packers within the 6-month and 12- 
month periods following the date of the re-
port, organized by reporting region and 
type of contract; 
‘‘(ii) based on the information col-
lected under subsection (b)(2)(F), the 
number of contracts with an open commit-
ment and any weekly, monthly, annual, or 
other limitations on the number of cattle 
that may be delivered under such con-
tracts; and 
‘‘(iii) based on the information col-
lected under subsection (b)(2)(G), an esti-
mate by the Secretary of the total max-
imum number of fed cattle that may be de-
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livered within the 6-month and 12-month 
periods following the date of the report, or-
ganized by reporting region and type of 
contract. 
‘‘(d) MAINTENANCE OF LIBRARY OR CATALOG.—In-
formation in the library or catalog established under sub-
section (a) about types of contracts that are no longer of-
fered or in use shall be removed from the library or cata-
log. 
‘‘(e) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The reporting require-
ments for packers under this section shall be subject to 
the confidentiality protections provided under section 251. 
‘‘(f) VIOLATIONS.—It shall be unlawful and a viola-
tion of this Act for any packer to willfully fail or refuse— 
‘‘(1) to provide to the Secretary accurate infor-
mation required under this section; or 
‘‘(2) to comply with any other requirement of 
this section. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 
sums as are necessary to carry out this section.’’. 
SEC. 7. PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION. 
Section 251(a) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 
1946 (7 U.S.C. 1636(a)) is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indent-
ing appropriately; 
(2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) 
(as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘The Secretary 
shall make available to the public information’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 
available to the public all information’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section permits 
the Secretary, or any officer or employee of the Sec-
retary, to withhold from the public the information, 
statistics, and documents described in paragraph 
(1).’’. 
SEC. 8. CASH MARKET ACQUISITION OF CATTLE. 
(a) SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.— 
It is the sense of the House of Representatives that— 
(1) all participants in the fed cattle market 
have a responsibility to contribute to regionally suffi-
cient levels of negotiated trade of fed cattle in all 
cattle feeding regions in order to achieve robust 
price discovery; and 
(2) the Department of Agriculture should exam-
ine existing academic literature regarding minimum 
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levels of cash transactions necessary to achieve ro-
bust price discovery and enhance cattle producer le-
verage in the marketplace in each of the cattle mar-
keting regions. 
(b) AMENDMENT.—Chapter 5 of subtitle B of the Ag-
ricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1636 et seq.) 
is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 259 and 260 as 
sections 260 and 261, respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after section 258 the following: 
‘‘SEC. 259. REGIONAL MANDATORY MINIMUMS FOR NEGO-
TIATED PURCHASES AND NEGOTIATED GRID 
PURCHASES. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF PACKER.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 
‘packer’ has the meaning given the term in section 
221. 
‘‘(2) EXCLUSION.—In this section, the term 
‘packer’ does not include a packer that slaughters 
cattle at only 1 livestock processing plant. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of the Cattle Price Dis-
covery and Transparency Act of 2021, the Secretary, 
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in consultation with the Chief Economist, shall es-
tablish— 
‘‘(A) regional mandatory minimums for the 
purpose of enhancing price discovery, trans-
parency, and cattle producer leverage for cattle 
market participants; and 
‘‘(B) methods for establishing those re-
gional mandatory minimums, which shall be 
publicly available. 
‘‘(2) PURCHASES.—A packer shall, with respect 
to a packer processing plant, purchase by negotiated 
purchase or negotiated grid purchase the percentage 
of cattle required by the regional mandatory min-
imum established for the region in which the packer 
processing plant is located. 
‘‘(c) PUBLIC INPUT.—In carrying out subsection (b), 
the Secretary shall make all proposed regional mandatory 
minimums and proposed methods for establishing those 
minimums subject to a notice and comment period. 
‘‘(d) DURATION.—Regional mandatory minimums es-
tablished for each reporting region under subsection (b)(1) 
shall be applicable for not more than a 24-month period. 
‘‘(e) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out subsection 
(b) for each reporting region, the Secretary, in consulta-
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tion with the Chief Economist, shall consider the following 
factors: 
‘‘(1) The number of packers in the reporting re-
gion. 
‘‘(2) The availability of cattle in the reporting 
region. 
‘‘(3) Pre-existing contractual arrangements of 
packers in the reporting region. 
‘‘(4) The number of pricing transactions (pens 
of cattle sold) in the reporting region. 
‘‘(f) INITIAL REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
the initial regional mandatory minimums established 
for each reporting region under subsection (b)(1) 
shall be not less than the average percentage of ne-
gotiated purchases and negotiated grid purchases in 
that region from the preceding 18 months. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—No initial regional man-
datory minimum established for a reporting region 
under paragraph (1) shall exceed 300 percent of the 
lowest initial regional mandatory minimum estab-
lished under that paragraph for a region that has 
publicly reported a majority of weekly market infor-
mation during the previous 18 months. 
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‘‘(g) BIANNUAL REVIEW.—On establishing regional 
mandatory minimums under subsection (b)(1), the Sec-
retary— 
‘‘(1) shall review the regional mandatory mini-
mums not less frequently than once every 2 years; 
and 
‘‘(2) shall, in consultation with the Chief Econ-
omist— 
‘‘(A) maintain existing regional mandatory 
minimums; or 
‘‘(B) modify the regional mandatory mini-
mums after— 
‘‘(i) consulting with representatives of 
the United States cattle and beef industry; 
and 
‘‘(ii) making the proposed modifica-
tion subject to a notice and comment pe-
riod. 
‘‘(h) ENFORCEMENT.—On establishing regional man-
datory minimums under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(1) regularly monitor compliance by packers 
with those regional mandatory minimums; and 
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‘‘(2) enforce this section in accordance with sec-
tion 203 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 
(7 U.S.C. 193). 
‘‘(i) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—Not later than 2 
years after establishing regional mandatory minimums 
under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary, in consultation 
with the Chief Economist, shall conduct a quantifiable, 
data-driven cost-benefit analysis regarding the operation 
and effect of those regional mandatory minimums. 
‘‘(j) APPLICATION.—This section shall apply only 
with respect to the reporting regions designated by the Ag-
ricultural Marketing Service.’’. 
SEC. 9. MAXIMUM PENALTY AMOUNT. 
The Secretary of Agriculture shall revise section 
3.91(b)(1)(lvi) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or 
a successor regulation), to establish a maximum civil pen-
alty of $86,156, which shall be adjusted for inflation in 
the same manner and to the same extent as civil monetary 
penalties under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Ad-
justment Act of 1990 (28 U.S.C. 2461 note). 
Æ 
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