By Trish Svoboda

On May 3, a letter was written to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, by U.S. Representative Tracey Mann, the Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry. He was joined by Representative Jim Costa, the Ranking Member of the same subcommittee, and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, along with 70 other colleagues. They urged Secretary Vilsack to reconsider the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to cancel or discontinue several reports from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

These reports are crucial for American farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers. They offer clear insights into the livestock, grain, and fiber markets, enabling these stakeholders to effectively manage risk and formulate supply and demand estimates. These estimates, in turn, assist in determining commodity sourcing plans, which are essential for maintaining operations.

“The data provided by USDA-NASS in these canceled reports is vitally important to cattle producers, especially in this current period of the cattle cycle,” said NCBA President and Wyoming rancher Mark Eisele. “USDA’s decision to cut the July Cattle report and County Estimates will only fuel more uncertainty in the market. NCBA thanks Rep. Mann, Rep. Costa, and Sen. Moran for leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers in urging USDA to reverse this decision.”

The letter is supported by the National Grain and Feed Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Cotton Council, American Farm Bureau Federation, Livestock Marketing Association, Beef Alliance, and Livestock Marketing and Dealers Association.