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PAG LIN
1 1 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY BARTZ and McLAREN
1 3 A Senate Concurrent Resolution to urge the federal
1 4 government to ensure fair and competitive
1 5 market practices for the purchase of livestock
1 6 from producers by packers and livestock buyers.
1 7 WHEREAS, agriculture has traditionally represented
1 8 the foundation of this nation's economic prosperity,
1 9 providing a system unmatched in the world for the
1 10 abundant and affordable production of food, feed
1 11 grains, and animal products, which maintains this
1 12 nation's people and contributes billions of dollars in
1 13 revenue each year from export sales; and
1 14 WHEREAS, the production of livestock by this
1 15 nation's farmers and ranchers represents a key
1 16 component of this nation's prosperity, by providing
1 17 numerous value-added food and other products upon
1 18 which this nation depends; and
1 19 WHEREAS, the state of Iowa is a leading
1 20 agricultural state which has developed and is
1 21 expanding infrastructure for the production and
1 22 processing of livestock, by relying upon its abundant
1 23 supplies of feed grains and the management and
1 24 knowledge of its producers, to consistently rank among
1 25 the top livestock-producing states in the nation; and
1 26 WHEREAS, this system of livestock production, which
1 27 has contributed to the economic security of the United
1 28 States, depends upon farmers and ranchers competing in
1 29 fair and open markets which ensure that producers have
1 30 an equal opportunity to sell livestock to packers and
2 1 buyers based on animal carcass merit rather than on
2 2 special pricing arrangements; and
2 3 WHEREAS, the practice of engaging in special
2 4 pricing arrangements between packers or buyers and
2 5 producers erodes this nation's system of open and fair
2 6 markets, by establishing arbitrary and inconsistent
2 7 pricing without public disclosure or price discovery,
2 8 and which, if allowed to replace the current system
2 9 and distort market forces, will create relationships
2 10 which, in some cases, will be unfair to producers and
2 11 in other cases will be unfair to packers and buyers;
2 12 and
2 13 WHEREAS, the United States Congress enacted the
2 14 Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 as amended, 21
2 15 U.S.C. } 181 et seq., to ensure fair and competitive
2 16 pricing practices between packers or buyers and
2 17 producers; NOW THEREFORE,
2 18 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF
2 19 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the Congress of the
2 20 United States; the President of the United States; the
2 21 Secretary of Agriculture, United States Department of
2 22 Agriculture; and the Grain Inspection, Packers and
2 23 Stockyards Administration, United States Department of
2 24 Agriculture, ensure fair and competitive market
2 25 practices for the purchase of livestock by packers and
2 26 livestock buyers; and
2 27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That pricing practices be
2 28 reviewed for purposes of developing and enforcing
2 29 standards and limitations regarding justifiable price
2 30 differences based on the time of delivery, transaction
3 1 volume, and private pricing arrangements under
3 2 contract; and
3 3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the restrictions be
3 4 imposed upon payment for or acceptance of livestock by
3 5 packers or buyers based on preconditions such as the
3 6 method of production or the use of a genetic nutrition
3 7 program; and
3 8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Grain Inspection,
3 9 Packers and Stockyards Administration, United States
3 10 Department of Agriculture, conduct a study evaluating
3 11 the effects of special pricing arrangements, including
3 12 marketing contracts, preferential pricing, and
3 13 packers' ownership or operation of livestock feeding;
3 14 and
3 15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this
3 16 resolution be sent by the Secretary of the Senate to
3 17 the President of the Senate of the United States; the
3 18 Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United
3 19 States; the chairman of the United States Senate
3 20 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; the
3 21 chairman of the United States House of Representatives
3 22 Committee on Agriculture; members of Iowa's
3 23 congressional delegation; the President of the United
3 24 States; the Secretary of Agriculture, United States
3 25 Department of Agriculture; and the Administrator of
3 26 the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards
3 27 Administration, United States Department of
3 28 Agriculture.
3 29 LSB 2189SS 76
3 30 da/cf/24
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