President Obama last week signed into law the Agriculture Reauthorizations Act of 2015 (HR 2051), which reauthorizes the mandatory price reporting program, the National Forest Foundation Act and the U.S. Grain Standards Act. Earlier in the week, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Senate's version of the bill, which renews price reporting and grain standards until September 30, 2020. These measures were set to expire on September 30.
The bill requires meat packers to inform USDA about the prices they pay livestock producers for cattle, hogs and lambs, and the prices they receive for wholesale meat cuts. The legislation includes technical changes to swine and lamb reporting that will capture a higher number of transactions and yield more accurate reports. There is also a provision requiring USDA to conduct a study, with input from the livestock and meat community, on the workability of the reporting program prior to the next reauthorization in 2020.
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