LUBBOCK, Texas (RFD-TV) — Producers warn that today’s Mandatory Price Reporting system no longer provides the transparent cash-market signals Congress intended, creating challenges for price discovery in a cattle sector increasingly shaped by formula and contract sales. The law was designed to provide timely, uniform information across regions, but outdated confidentiality rules now impede reporting in several major feeding states.
The core problem stems from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) thresholds that prevent the publication of data when too few packers operate in a region. As a result, Texas and Colorado — both critical cattle-feeding hubs — often have no publicly reported cash prices. The Ag Center argues that USDA has made only incremental updates over 25 years despite major changes in packer procurement practices.
Operationally, thin cash trade magnifies the need for accurate reporting because base-price formulas typically reference cash values. Producers say today’s gaps hinder negotiations, distort formula settlements, and complicate hedging strategies.
Regionally, the reporting void is most acute in the Southern Plains, though similar issues are evident in parts of the Midwest and Northwest, where packing concentration limits the number of reportable transactions.
Analysts believe modern data systems and AI could rapidly overhaul reporting. Proposals include standardized FOB live-equivalent pricing, clearer transaction categories, updated regional definitions, and timed disclosure of grid and formula adjustments.
The machines do all the work at Hickory Hill Milk in South Carolina, and the pampered cows get on-demand service. The team at Where the Food Comes From shares a special, behind-the-scenes account filming the show’s newest episode, Robot Dairy, premiering this Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, at 9:30 p.m. ET on RFD-TV!
October 19, 2023 09:00 AM
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How does a robot milk a cow?
October 18, 2023 09:00 AM
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The machines do all the work at Hickory Hill Milk in South Carolina, where the pampered cows get on-demand service. They make a premium cream line of milk you still have to shake. It is so good it is used to make the world-famous Clemson blue cheese.
October 17, 2023 01:55 PM
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Many turn to the online resale market when economic times are uncertain, buying items for cheaper prices or selling quality items for extra money. Reselling secondhand items is also an efficient way to declutter and get some cash back for valuable items you no longer need.
October 13, 2023 04:57 PM
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Today’s blog post by RFD-TV Agri-Legal Expert Roger McEowen takes a look at the “preferential payment rule,” a unique bankruptcy provision that can come as a suprise to farmers in financial distress.
October 13, 2023 10:54 AM
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With 2023 projected to be a difficult year for agricultural producers, Chapter 12 filings may increase. One of the requirements to get a Chapter 12 reorganization plan approved is that be filed in “good faith.” In this blog post, RFD-TV Legal Contributor Roger A. McEowen explains exactly what farmers need to know about the process.
October 04, 2023 02:57 PM
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The failure of a grain elevator can cause large problems for farmers and for the local community it serves. A farmer who knows their rights and where they stand if an elevator fails can be in a better position than those farmers who aren’t as well informed. That is the topic of today’s blog post by RFD-TV Legal Contributor Roger A. McEowen.
October 04, 2023 02:46 PM
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Financial matters in farming can be frustratingly complicated, especially when it comes to the process of filing for bankruptcy. That is the topic tackled in today’s blog post by Farm-Legal Expert Roger A. McEowen—the definition of “insolvency” for purposes of the exclusion from income of CODI.
October 04, 2023 02:14 PM
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The “farm products rule,” and the 1985 Farm Bill modification and its application – that is the topic of today’s blog post from Agri-Legal Expert Roger McEowen.
October 03, 2023 02:43 PM
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