Federal official supports packer price reporting

Iowa lawmakers waiting for federal action forcing meatpackers to disclosethe prices they pay for pigs and cattle will have to wait longer. Amandatory packer price reporting bill is under consideration in the Iowalegislature, but most lawmakers would prefer a national reporting system. U-S House Ag Committee chairman Larry Combest would prefer a voluntarysystem in which meatpackers would report the prices they pay for privatecontracts. Combest is waiting for a report on the issue. That report’s duein mid-April.Some Iowa legislators are reluctant to force packers to disclose theirpricing as some meatpackers threaten to leave the state. Combest says heagrees that it is better to have federal rather than state regulations onthis issue.Combest says the U.S. House Ag Committee might act on the issue by the end ofMay, but the bill would have to clear the full House and Senate before itbecomes law.