Rounds urges swift release of federal funds to stabilize cattle industry

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) on April 1 teamed up with more than 140 other members of Congress to request that U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue swiftly provide federal funds from the newly enacted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stabilization (CARES) Act to help America’s cattle producers.

Sen. Rounds and members of the bipartisan, bicameral contingent of lawmakers also seek replenishment of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), as well as additional emergency funding, to help stabilize farm and ranch income for producers facing market volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The COVID-19 outbreak has demonstrated the need for domestic food security,” wrote Sen. Rounds and his colleagues in an April 1 letter sent to Secretary Perdue. “We urge you to quickly deliver relief to producers as we work to lessen the economic impact of this pandemic.”

Sen. Rounds and his colleagues worked to ensure the CARES Act included $14 billion toward replenishing the CCC and appropriated an additional $9.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to assist producers, including livestock producers, throughout the public health crisis.

“While we do not know what the full market impact will be for the various commodities produced in our states, we recognize that there is an immediate need for assistance for our cattle producers,” they wrote, requesting that USDA consider data and estimates available from the U.S. Office of the Chief Economist to implement a program to directly respond to the negative effect on producers caused by COVID-19.

Such a program should deliver targeted, temporary, equitable relief to cattle producers in a manner that limits market distortions and negative effects on price discovery, according to the lawmakers’ letter.