South Dakota cattle producer, St. Onge Livestock Auction Manager and US Cattlemen’s Association Vice President Justin Tupper led off testimony at the Senate Ag Committee Hearing on Wednesday. Tupper said there is a crisis impacting the U.S. cattle industry as producers are going under and are dealing with low prices, inclement weather and a broken market system.

He says the difference between what the independent cattle producer is getting for his cattle compared to the profit the packer is making is hugely significant.

Tupper says while cattle producers are going out of business, and packers are making enormous profits, consumer are also paying more for the beef they’re getting.

Tupper says it’s critical that a fair and competitive market is ensured, that transparency and true price discovery is boosted and independent processing capacity is built and that truth in labeling is established on U.S. beef products.