[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3408 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3408
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 15, 2005
Received
October 7 (legislative day, October 6), 2005
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To reauthorize the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 and to
amend the swine reporting provisions of that Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. EXTENSION.
(a) In General.--Chapter 5 of subtitle B of the Agricultural
Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1636 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following new section:
``SEC. 260. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.
``The authority provided by this subtitle terminates on September
30, 2010.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment and Extension.-- Section 942 of the
Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (7 U.S.C. 1635 note; Public
Law 106-78) is amended by striking ``terminate on September 30, 2005''
and inserting ``(other than section 911 of subtitle A and the
amendments made by that section) terminate on September 30, 2010''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
(a) Base Market Hogs.--Section 231(4) of the Agricultural Marketing
Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635i(4)) is amended to read as follows:
``(4) Base market hog.--The term `base market hog' means a
barrow or gilt for which no discounts are subtracted from and
no premiums are added to the base price.''.
(b) Boars.--Section 231(5) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1635i(5)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(5) Boar.--The term `boar' means a sexually-intact male
swine.''.
(c) Packer of Sows and Boars.--Section 231(12) of such Act (7
U.S.C. 1635i(12)) is amended by--
(1) striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following
new subparagraph:
``(B) for any calendar year, the term includes
only--
``(i) a swine processing plant that
slaughtered an average of at least 100,000
swine per year during the immediately preceding
five calendar years; and
``(ii) a person that slaughtered an average
of at least 200,000 sows, boars, or any
combination thereof, per year during the
immediately preceding five calendar years;
and''; and
(2) in subparagraph (C)--
(A) by inserting ``or person'' after ``swine
processing plant'';
(B) by inserting ``or person'' after ``plant
capacity of the processing plant''; and
(C) by inserting ``or person'' after ``determining
whether the processing plant''.
SEC. 3. REPORTING; BARROWS AND GILTS.
Section 232(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C.
1635j(c)) is amended to read as follows:
``(c) Daily Reporting; Barrows and Gilts.--
``(1) Prior day report.--
``(A) In general.--The corporate officers or
officially designated representatives of each packer
processing plant that processes barrows or gilts shall
report to the Secretary, for each business day of the
packer, such information as the Secretary determines
necessary and appropriate to--
``(i) comply with the publication
requirements of this section; and
``(ii) provide for the timely access to the
information by producers, packers, and other
market participants.
``(B) Reporting deadline and plants required to
report.--A packer required to report under subparagraph
(A) shall--
``(i) not later than 7:00 a.m. Central Time
on each reporting day, report information
regarding all barrows and gilts purchased or
priced, and
``(ii) not later than 9:00 a.m. Central
Time on each reporting day, report information
regarding all barrows and gilts slaughtered,
during the prior business day of the packer.
``(C) Information required.--The information from
the prior business day of a packer required under this
paragraph shall include--
``(i) all purchase data, including--
``(I) the total number of--
``(aa) barrows and gilts
purchased; and
``(bb) barrows and gilts
scheduled for delivery; and
``(II) the base price and purchase
data for slaughtered barrows and gilts
for which a price has been established;
``(ii) all slaughter data for the total
number of barrows and gilts slaughtered,
including--
``(I) information concerning the
net price, which shall be equal to the
total amount paid by a packer to a
producer (including all premiums, less
all discounts) per hundred pounds of
carcass weight of barrows and gilts
delivered at the plant--
``(aa) including any sum
deducted from the price per
hundredweight paid to a
producer that reflects the
repayment of a balance owed by
the producer to the packer or
the accumulation of a balance
to later be repaid by the
packer to the producer; and
``(bb) excluding any sum
earlier paid to a producer that
must later be repaid to the
packer;
``(II) information concerning the
average net price, which shall be equal
to the quotient (stated per hundred
pounds of carcass weight of barrows and
gilts) obtained by dividing--
``(aa) the total amount
paid for the barrows and gilts
slaughtered at a packing plant
during the applicable reporting
period, including all premiums
and discounts, and including
any sum deducted from the price
per hundredweight paid to a
producer that reflects the
repayment of a balance owed by
the producer to the packer, or
the accumulation of a balance
to later be repaid by the
packer to the producer, less
all discounts; by
``(bb) the total carcass
weight (in hundred pound
increments) of the barrows and
gilts;
``(III) information concerning the
lowest net price, which shall be equal
to the lowest net price paid for a
single lot or a group of barrows or
gilts slaughtered at a packing plant
during the applicable reporting period
per hundred pounds of carcass weight of
barrows and gilts;
``(IV) information concerning the
highest net price, which shall be equal
to the highest net price paid for a
single lot or group of barrows or gilts
slaughtered at a packing plant during
the applicable reporting period per
hundred pounds of carcass weight of
barrows and gilts;
``(V) the average carcass weight,
which shall be equal to the quotient
obtained by dividing--
``(aa) the total carcass
weight of the barrows and gilts
slaughtered at the packing
plant during the applicable
reporting period, by
``(bb) the number of the
barrows and gilts described in
item (aa),
adjusted for special slaughter
situations (such as skinning or foot
removal), as the Secretary determines
necessary to render comparable carcass
weights;
``(VI) the average sort loss, which
shall be equal to the average discount
(in dollars per hundred pounds carcass
weight) for barrows and gilts
slaughtered during the applicable
reporting period, resulting from the
fact that the barrows and gilts did not
fall within the individual packer's
established carcass weight or lot
variation range;
``(VII) the average backfat, which
shall be equal to the average of the
backfat thickness (in inches) measured
between the third and fourth from the
last ribs, 7 centimeters from the
carcass split (or adjusted from the
individual packer's measurement to that
reference point using an adjustment
made by the Secretary) of the barrows
and gilts slaughtered during the
applicable reporting period;
``(VIII) the average lean
percentage, which shall be equal to the
average percentage of the carcass
weight comprised of lean meat for the
barrows and gilts slaughtered during
the applicable reporting period, except
that when a packer is required to
report the average lean percentage
under this subclause, the packer shall
make available to the Secretary the
underlying data, applicable methodology
and formulae, and supporting materials
used to determine the average lean
percentage, which the Secretary may
convert to the carcass measurements or
lean percentage of the barrows and
gilts of the individual packer to
correlate to a common percent lean
measurement; and
``(IX) the total slaughter
quantity, which shall be equal to the
total number of barrows and gilts
slaughtered during the applicable
reporting period, including all types
of purchases and barrows and gilts that
qualify as packer-owned swine; and
``(iii) packer purchase commitments, which
shall be equal to the number of barrows and
gilts scheduled for delivery to a packer for
slaughter for each of the next 14 calendar
days.
``(D) Publication.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall
publish the information obtained under this
paragraph in a prior day report--
``(I) in the case of information
regarding barrows and gilts purchased
or priced, not later than 8:00 a.m.
Central Time, and
``(II) in the case of information
regarding barrows and gilts
slaughtered, not later than 10:00 a.m.
Central time,
on the reporting day on which the information
is received from the packer.
``(ii) Price distributions.--The
information published by the Secretary under
clause (i) shall include a distribution of net
prices in the range between and including the
lowest net price and the highest net price
reported. The publication shall include a
delineation of the number of barrows and gilts
at each reported price level or, at the option
of the Secretary, the number of barrows and
gilts within each of a series of reasonable
price bands within the range of prices.
``(2) Morning report.--
``(A) In general.--The corporate officers or
officially designated representatives of each packer
processing plant that processes barrows or gilts shall
report to the Secretary not later than 10:00 a.m.
Central Time each reporting day--
``(i) the packer's best estimate of the
total number of barrows and gilts, and barrows
and gilts that qualify as packer-owned swine,
expected to be purchased throughout the
reporting day through each type of purchase;
``(ii) the total number of barrows and
gilts, and barrows and gilts that qualify as
packer-owned swine, purchased up to that time
of the reporting day through each type of
purchase;
``(iii) the base price paid for all base
market hogs purchased up to that time of the
reporting day through negotiated purchases; and
``(iv) the base price paid for all base
market hogs purchased through each type of
purchase other than negotiated purchase up to
that time of the reporting day, unless such
information is unavailable due to pricing that
is determined on a delayed basis.
``(B) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish the
information obtained under this paragraph in the
morning report as soon as practicable, but not later
than 11:00 a.m. Central Time, on each reporting day.
``(3) Afternoon report.--
``(A) In general.--The corporate officers or
officially designated representatives of each packer
processing plant that processes barrows or gilts shall
report to the Secretary not later than 2:00 p.m.
Central Time each reporting day--
``(i) the packer's best estimate of the
total number of barrows and gilts, and barrows
and gilts that qualify as packer-owned swine,
expected to be purchased throughout the
reporting day through each type of purchase;
``(ii) the total number of barrows and
gilts, and barrows and gilts that qualify as
packer-owned swine, purchased up to that time
of the reporting day through each type of
purchase;
``(iii) the base price paid for all base
market hogs purchased up to that time of the
reporting day through negotiated purchases; and
``(iv) the base price paid for all base
market hogs purchased up to that time of the
reporting day through each type of purchase
other than negotiated purchase, unless such
information is unavailable due to pricing that
is determined on a delayed basis.
``(B) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish the
information obtained under this paragraph in the
afternoon report as soon as practicable, but not later
than 3:00 p.m. Central Time, on each reporting day.''.
SEC. 4. REPORTING; SOWS AND BOARS.
Section 232 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C.
1635j) is amended by--
(1) redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
(2) inserting after subsection (c) the following new
subsection:
``(d) Daily Reporting; Sows and Boars.--
``(1) Prior day report.--The corporate officers or
officially designated representatives of each packer of sows
and boars shall report to the Secretary, for each business day
of the packer, such information reported by hog class as the
Secretary determines necessary and appropriate to--
``(A) comply with the publication requirements of
this section; and
``(B) provide for the timely access to the
information by producers, packers, and other market
participants.
``(2) Reporting.--Not later than 9:30 a.m. Central Time, or
such other time as the Secretary considers appropriate, on each
reporting day, a packer required to report under paragraph (1)
shall report information regarding all sows and boars purchased
or priced during the prior business day of the packer.
``(3) Information required.--The information from the prior
business day of a packer required under this subsection shall
include all purchase data, including--
``(A) the total number of sows purchased and the
total number of boars purchased, each divided into at
least three reasonable and meaningful weight classes
specified by the Secretary;
``(B) the number of sows that qualify as packer-
owned swine;
``(C) the number of boars that qualify as packer-
owned swine;
``(D) the average price paid for all sows;
``(E) the average price paid for all boars;
``(F) the average price paid for sows in each
weight class specified by the Secretary under
subparagraph (A);
``(G) the average price paid for boars in each
weight class specified by the Secretary under
subparagraph (A);
``(H) the number of sows and the number of boars
for which prices are determined, by each type of
purchase;
``(I) the average prices for sows and the average
prices for boars for which prices are determined, by
each type of purchase; and
``(J) such other information as the Secretary
considers appropriate to carry out this subsection.
``(4) Price calculations without packer-owned swine.--A
packer shall omit the prices of sows and boars that qualify as
packer-owned swine from all average price calculations, price
range calculations, and reports required by this subsection.
``(5) Reporting exception: public auction purchases.--The
information required to be reported under this subsection shall
not include purchases of sows or boars made by agents of the
reporting packer at a public auction at which the title of the
sows and boars is transferred directly from the producer to
such packer.
``(6) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish the
information obtained under this paragraph in a prior day report
not later than 11:00 a.m. Central Time on the reporting day on
which the information is received from the packer.
``(7) Electronic submission of information.--The Secretary
of Agriculture shall provide for the electronic submission of
any information required to be reported under this subsection
through
an Internet website or equivalent electronic means maintained
by the Department of Agriculture.''.
Passed the House of Representatives September 14, 2005.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.
By Gerasimos C. Vans,
Deputy Clerk.