54-2603 Legislative findings. - Nebraska Statutes

54-2603. Legislative findings.(1) The Legislature finds that family farmers and ranchers have been experiencing, with greater frequency, severely depressed livestock market prices. These market conditions are disproportionately affecting independent producers, which make up the majority of farms and ranches, and are threatening the economic stability of Nebraska's rural communities. The Legislature further finds that packer concentration, vertical integration, and contractual arrangements are undermining the system of price discovery. In the absence of any meaningful federal response to the conditions described, the purpose of the Competitive Livestock Markets Act is to increase livestock market price transparency, ensuring that producers can compete in a free and open market. This is accomplished by establishing minimum price and contract reporting requirements, eliminating volume premiums and volume-based incentives, scrutinizing livestock production contracts and marketing agreements, and statutorily reinforcing the constitutional prohibition against the ownership, keeping, or feeding of livestock by packers for the production of livestock or livestock products.(2) The Legislature further finds that the mandatory reporting of price and other terms in negotiated or contract procurement of livestock that has been in place under the federal Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 is an important reform of livestock markets that contributes to greater market transparency, enhances the ability of livestock sellers to more competently and confidently market livestock, and lessens the existence of conditions under which market price manipulation and unfair preference or advantage in packer procurement practices can occur. It is a purpose of the Competitive Livestock Markets Act to provide for the continuation of mandatory price reporting for the benefit of Nebraska producers and protection of the integrity of livestock markets in Nebraska in the event of termination of the federal Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 and its preemption of similar state price reporting laws as well as to provide for an orderly implementation of the state price reporting system authorized by the Competitive Livestock Markets Act, should Congress fail to reauthorize the federal Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999. SourceLaws 1999, LB 835, § 3; Laws 2006, LB 856, § 26.