CALF_News_October_November_2021

8 CALF News • October | November 2021 • www.calfnews.net more than 4,500 sellers. “Sustainability is the right thing to do and there’s a lot we can do,” Norton said, pointing out the need to educate consumers and even company shareholders. “We educate our sellers on how beef is raised and where it comes from. NCBA is helping us get your story out there.” The Darden restaurant lineup includes Longhorn Steakhouse, The Capital Grille and Olive Garden. “Our sales are 14 percent above where they were pre-pandemic,” Young said. “We realize the demand is there, but there’s more pressure on us to explain sustain- ability at the ranch. You [ranchers and farmers] are more respected than corpo- rations, politicians and even scientists. We need to get out the correct story on your sustainability. “Consumers are disconnected from the food chain. Your story is impor- tant. It’s amazing that I can talk about NCBA’s goals [to institutional investors]. These are climate solutions.” Norton said the food industry and cattle producers must work as a team.“I don’t think we’ve been connected enough. We need to work closer together.” A new NCBA Sustainability Goals Task Force is designed to evaluate the current state of U.S. beef cattle sustain- ability, determine which improvements are most critical and help share the story of progress. Producers and feeders from across the nation make up the task force. As far as beef production’s impact on the environment, “We are the solution, not the problem. NCBA is now on the offensive,” Smith proclaimed. More Market Transparency Price transparency issues came to a boiling point in the heart of COVID’s negative impact on cattle and wholesale beef prices. It came down to whether government-mandated or voluntary negotiated cash trade is needed. The NCBA Live Cattle Marketing Commit- tee was expected to hear bickering from both sides, along with loud anti-packer sentiment. Instead, it was an orderly, business-like summit. The issues were discussed and a directive was made to create a new working group on market information, transparency and reporting. Cattle groups from Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, California, Montana, Texas and other states put together both revised and new policy resolutions that addressed price discovery. Leadership at Texas Cattle Feeders Association (TCFA) further highlighted the role of the new working group. The group will focus on increased market transparency by evaluating the impacts of Livestock Mandatory Report- ing (LMR) confidentiality guidelines and defining the key elements of a cattle contract library and associated LMR reporting, TCFA stated. The focus will also be on determining the type and content of captive supply and other alternative marketing agreements that must be reported to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The group will also review the func- tions and intentions of the Packers & Stockyards Act; evaluate the need for additional research on the regional levels of negotiated trade to provide robust price discovery; and review the size threshold and other criteria for packing plant participation in LMR. The group’s recommendations will be presented during the 2022 Cattle Industry Con- vention in Houston next February. In a related measure, USDA announced a National Daily Direct Formula Base Cattle Report in early August. It is designed to provide greater information into the foundational prices used in cattle market formulas, grids and contracts. It will also provide a National Weekly Cattle Net Price Distribution Report, which will show the volume of cattle purchased at each different level of pricing within those formulas, grids and contracts. “USDA’s announcement is a signifi- cant step toward increasing transparency in the cattle markets,” said Ethan Lane, NCBA vice president of government Continued on page 16  2021 CATTLE INDUSTRY CONVENTION & NCBA TRADE SHOW Continued from page 6 Kristine Young of Darden Restaurants, which include Longhorn Steakhouse and Olive Garden, said her company’s enjoyed strong demand. “We realize the demand is there, but there’s more pressure on us to explain sustainability at the ranch." David Norton of Sysco food wholesaler, said, “We educate our sellers on how beef is raised and where it comes from. NCBA is helping us get your story out there.” NCBA CEO Collin Woodall said NCBA’s new sustainability goals are part of increased efforts to educate consumers on the cattle production’s longtime stewardship programs.