Open Letter to Senator Chuck Schumer concerning the Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act
Montana Cattlemen’s Association
Press Release
Release Date: March 26, 2026
Contact person: Gilles Stockton (406) 428-2183
Email: mca@montanacattlemen.org, gillesstockton@gmail.com
Open Letter to Senator Chuck Schumer and All the Other Members of Congress – Democrats, Independents, and Republicans Alike.
Dear Senator Schumer;
Thank you for proposing the “Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act,” which shall enforce the anti-trust laws against the cartel controlling the poultry, pork, and beef industries. For thirty years, cattle producers have been knocking on Congress’s door, pleading for the restoration of a competitive market, only to be systematically ignored. The result has been the exiting of hundreds of thousands of ranchers and independent feedlot operators, with the side effect of impoverishing rural America. By ignoring the formation of this meat-packing cartel, Congress is to blame for the smallest cattle herd since 1951, with the highest beef prices ever for consumers.
I agree that breaking up this meat cartel is necessary. However, there are two actions that you can take that would be more immediate and go a long way towards restoring competition to this dysfunctional cattle market. The most immediate would be to restore Country of Origin Labeling for retail beef and pork. In 2015, when Congress removed these two meats from the labeling requirements, they created the inevitability for this crisis.
I call it a crisis because the immediate result of Congress’s betrayal in 2015 was a 40% crash in the cattle markets, which was followed by years of disastrously low prices. When compounded by drought, the net result is 150,000 ranchers and independent cattle feeders losing their livelihoods in just the past eleven years, and the fewest number of cattle in eight decades.
The ranchers and cattle feeders who have persevered are finally starting to heal financially. Consumers – God bless them – continue to purchase this expensive beef. Farmers and ranchers are very uncomfortable with volatile markets, as, of course, should be consumers. It is in all of our interests to have predictable, transparent, and stable markets. Because of the lack of labeling, consumers are buying imported beef at inflated prices. To put that in context, about one-third of beef at retail is imported. I urge you to immediately restore mandatory Country of Origin Labeling. After all, consumers have the right to know the origin of all of their purchases, and farmers and ranchers have the right to transparent, competitive markets.
The other measure that you can immediately put into motion is to stop “captive supply.” Let me explain. Once cattle have been fattened to the proper point, they need to be slaughtered in a timely manner. Each day that this is delayed eats into the very tiny margins that cattle feeders receive. The beef packer cartel controls the timing of the slaughter, and because of this, they are able to manipulate the market. This is not speculation; the manipulation is well documented. The packers force feedlots to commit their fed cattle, but do not offer a price. Hence, these cattle are “captive” and never contribute to the price discovery process.
Instead of knowing what they will receive for their fed cattle, the feedlots are promised to be paid the average market price at the time of delivery. This delivery price is based on what is termed the “spot market,” which consists of the small number of cattle not committed in the “captive” system. “Spot” cattle are purchased at the very last minute on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. An easy point of market manipulation. Particularly when the number of “spot market” cattle is very small.
Cattle purchased on the “spot market” have now fallen well below 20% of the total. This is all thoroughly documented in the “Advanced Notice of Rule Making: Price Discovery and Competition in Markets for Fed Cattle” (Agricultural Marketing Service 9 CFR Part 201 AMS FTPP-24-0013). AMS documents that in the Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico marketing region, 2.6% of cattle purchased on the “spot market” priced 97.4% of the cattle which had been committed to the “captive supply.” This is not transparent competitive price discovery in anyone’s imagination.
There is a very simple solution to this market dysfunction – require that packers price the fed cattle at the time they are committed to a particular firm. Just like that, a market that only serves the shareholders of the packing cartel becomes fully transparent and competitive for everyone. All that needs to be done is for the USDA to enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act by requiring that packers purchase their cattle supply in a public, transparent, and competitive manner.
Private auction companies already offer electronic/video sales for forward contracting of “feeder” cattle. These auction firms can easily extend that service to “fed” cattle. There is a precedent. A consent decree in 1920 required that packers purchase in a competitive manner. As a result, the packing cartel of that era was forced to compete, and new startups proved to be more competitive. It was not until 1980, when this consent decree was rescinded, that the current beef (and other meats) cartel formed. This approach will work again. The Packers and Stockyards Act clearly states that packers cannot discriminate in their cattle purchases. By making them compete in a transparent marketplace, the result will be perfect price discovery.
By all means, also pass the “Family Grocery and Farmer Relief Act.” This is vital for the long-term health of the cattle industry and the rural communities that depend upon us. However, pass Country of Origin Labeling and Captive Supply Reform first. Through these two measures, beef consumers in New York will see timely relief.
Sincerely yours,
Gilles Stockton
On Behalf of the Montana Cattlemen’s Association