USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service or AMS is implementing changes to mandatory price reporting. The agency is taking input from industry stakeholders to determine what updates need to be made. Nebraska Pork Producers Association Executive Director Al Junke says they’re working closely with the division on the revisions.

Pork producers have expressed concern about the low percentage of negotiated hogs and would like to see that number increase to provide more price transparency. AMS has indicated they may use more of the formula traded hogs under the current language. Junke says that isimportnat because those prices are used to determine packer formulas for their base prices.

Some producers and market participants have criticized Mandatory Price Reporting because they believe they had more information voluntarily shared by packers and producers under the old system.

Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting was created more than 16 years ago to provide transparent and comparable market information for all producers. However, it must adapt with changes in the industry, like the Fed Cattle Exchange.
The Livestock Mandatory Reporting was reauthorized in 2015 and will be up for reauthorization again in 2020.