Bill Bullard, CEO of R-CALF USA, recently outlined the organization’s multifront battle to protect independent U.S. cattle producers, focusing on key legislative efforts, long-running litigation against meatpacking giants, and the core threat to the industry’s survival.
R-CALF USA is the largest cattle producer-only trade association dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle and sheep industries, the organization’s website states.
Push for M-COOL A primary focus for R-CALF is the reinstatement of M-COOL (Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling) for beef, Bullard said.
“We do have legislation that has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader,” Bullard stated. “We are working on getting legislation introduced in the House, too, because we want to be spooled up for the Farm Bill. When Congress begins work on the Farm Bill, we intend to include mandatory country of origin labeling for beef.”
Antitrust lawsuit, major settlement For six years R-CALF has been involved in a landmark class-action antitrust lawsuit against the four largest beef packers — Cargill, JBS, National Beef and Tyson — alleging market manipulation. The case recently achieved a significant milestone with a proposed settlement from one of the defendants.
“We recently reached a proposed settlement with JBS, one of the four defendants in the case, and the amount of that proposed settlement was $83.5 million,” Bullard said.
Cattle feeders who sold fed cattle directly to any of the four major packers between June 1, 2015, and Feb. 29, 2020, can file a claim at cattleantitrustsettlement. com, he said, cautioning that the full legal process is lengthy, with the case now involving virtually every segment of the beef supply chain. The next major step is a hearing on class certification expected later this summer, with a potential trial still two years away.
‘Single greatest threat’ to producers When asked about the most significant danger facing U.S. cattle producers, Bullard said, “The single greatest threat is lack of competition in the cattle markets,” identifying the intertwining issues of “free trade globalization” and packer consolidation as the root cause. “The ability of the concentrated meatpackers to source beef and cattle from around the world and then sell it to unsuspecting consumers here in America as if it were a domestic product is displacing domestic production.”
Bullard argues that with four packers controlling 80% of the market, the industry suffers from a lack of competition on two fronts: globalization and concentration. To combat this, R-CALF advocates for the use of tariffs to protect domestic producers.
“We have been calling upon the administration to institute tariff rate quotas and tariffs for both the cattle and the sheep industry,” he said. “We’ve got to take steps to protect our domestic supply chains.”
Convention to tackle issues These topics will be at the forefront of the R-CALF convention June 17-19 in Deadwood Springs, South Dakota . The event will feature attorneys leading the antitrust and electronic ID mandate lawsuits, as well as discussions on the Packers and Stockyards Act and private property rights. Confirmed speakers include U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) and U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).
Bullard stressed that despite historically high nominal prices, the industry remains in a precarious state.
“Even in the face of the highest nominal prices in history, our industry is still in crisis because we haven’t changed the structure of the marketplace,” Bullard said. “Unless we change the structure of the broken marketplace, our industry is susceptible to anomalies like what we saw in 2015 when prices fell further and faster than any time in history.”