Livestock Risk Management and Education Act offers grants to land-grant universities to assist in risk management training.

October 23, 2019

3 Min Read
Bill helps better equip livestock producers on marketing

Members in the House of Representatives introduced a bill that would provide grants to certain state land-grant universities to better equip livestock producers with risk management training.

U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R., S.D.), Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.), and Frank Lucas (R., Okla.), introduced the Livestock Risk Management and Education Act, which would authorize the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to provide resources to improve livestock producers’ knowledge of futures markets to better manage market volatility. An understanding of futures contracts and risk management strategies will allow producers both large and small to better anticipate cattle prices. This new authority would allow land-grant universities to partner with grower associations to more directly reach producers.

“Producers already face an uphill battle of unpredictable weather, understanding cattle prices doesn’t need to be an added challenge,” said Johnson. “The Livestock Risk Management and Education Act will supply producers with the tools needed to anticipate highs and lows in the futures markets. I’m proud to partner with my colleagues from cattle country to help best prepare our Ag economy and producers for the future.”

“Livestock producers across the country have faced years of uncertainty and, like others, need every tool within their belt to manage risk and sharpen their ability to weather the market’s uncertainty,” Lucas said, adding the Livestock Risk Management and Education Act will ensure that livestock producers have the resources they need to better utilize risk management strategies as they overcome market volatility. “Our producers rise to the challenge day in and day out and the Livestock Risk Management and Education Act would help provide stability for those that feed billions across the globe,” said Lucas.

The bill is also finding support among producer groups and universities.

Daniel Scholl, vice president of research and economic development at South Dakota State University, said, “This bill strengthens the ability of South Dakota State University and other Land-Grant Universities to provide unbiased third-party research and expertise on livestock market risk management to one of the nation's high-risk food sectors. We look forward to the possibility to develop and deliver cutting edge risk management tools and education programs to livestock producers in partnership with key industry organizations.  This should be a win for U.S. livestock growers and for consumers.”

American Farm Bureau Federation vice president Scott VanderWal added, “Livestock producers are not immune from a tough farm economy. Producers need every tool at their disposal to manage risk and have the market intel available to optimize their ability to weather economic volatility. The Livestock Risk Management and Education Act will help land-grant universities partner with producer associations to make sure more producers have market and risk management information they can trust to make vital business decisions.”

“In a market environment that continues to challenge even the most experienced multi-generational operations, NCBA believes that it is critical for producers to understand their options for managing risk,” noted National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn., Todd Wilkinson, policy division vice chairman. “The Livestock Risk Management and Education Act policy will provide the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture the authority and flexibility to collaborate with industry to ensure that cattle farmers and ranchers have access to those options and the knowledge base to determine which ones are right for their operations.”

 

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