Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer testified before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry, discussing the current state of the livestock industry.
In his opening remarks, Schweitzer expressed gratitude to Chairman Mann and Ranking Member Costa for the opportunity to testify. He introduced himself as a third-generation Montana farmer involved in raising Registered Black Angus cattle, hay, and grain. His testimony focused on competitive markets and reducing uncertainty within the livestock sector.
Schweitzer emphasized the need for a more resilient food system that includes diverse local and regional production. He highlighted how fragile the existing consolidated food system appeared during the pandemic. "For beef, just four firms control more than 80 percent of packing," he noted, pointing out that this consolidation leaves cattle ranchers vulnerable.
He called for strong enforcement of competition laws to counter monopolies, referencing updates to the Packers and Stockyards Act that strengthened protections for family livestock producers. Schweitzer advocated for passing legislation like the Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act to equip USDA with resources against monopolistic practices.
To enhance competitiveness in the cattle sector, he supported passage of the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act. Additionally, he highlighted potential savings from a robust agricultural right-to-repair law which could save farmers billions annually in repair costs and crop loss due to downtime.
Schweitzer shared Montana Farmers Union's efforts in forming meat processing cooperatives with direct-to-market producers using USDA grants and loans. These initiatives provide additional markets for ranchers while offering consumers more choices.
He stressed accurate labeling through support of the American Beef Labeling Act requiring mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef. This would make markets fairer for American producers.
Addressing concerns about uncertainty from federal grant pauses and workforce reductions affecting farmers' long-term planning, Schweitzer urged close monitoring by lawmakers. He also underscored advancing a strong farm bill with improved disaster insurance offerings as crucial for reducing uncertainty in livestock farming.
"Thank you for the opportunity to testify," concluded Schweitzer as he opened up to questions from committee members.
