Agriculture

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today is calling for Senate passage of two bipartisan bills he cosponsored to help bring fairness to the cattle markets and support Montana ag. The bipartisan “Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act” and “Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act” were passed out of the Senate Agriculture Committee today and will head to the Senate floor.  “It’s past time we put an end to the manipulation and price gouging within the cattle markets. Restoring competition and transparency in the cattle market will ensure Montana ranchers are competing on a level playing field and Montana families are paying fair prices at the grocery store. I’m urging swift passage of these important bipartisan bills to help support Montana ag,” Daines said.  In November 2021, Daines helped introduce

U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines sent a letter calling on President Biden to take immediate action to reduce high fertilizer costs for Montana farmers, including taking steps to increase U.S. oil and gas production. “Ongoing supply-chain bottlenecks and the rising cost of energy are among the factors sending fertilizer prices soaring, and disruptions stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will only compound the problem. As a result, Americans will pay more at restaurants, grocery stores, and other places,” Daines wrote. “We are therefore urging your administration to review all possible options to lower the cost of fertilizer,” Daines continued. “…Quickly undertaking such

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines released the following statement after the Biden administration announced steps to increase transparency in cattle markets and released an “Action Plan” to address unfair practices. Daines describes the action, which comes after years of his work on the issue, as a positive step with more action needed.   “Montana ranchers must be able to compete on a level playing field. I have long worked to address the unfair practices of the largest meat packers that are hurting Montana ranchers. While this is a welcome step forward from the Administration, we must continue to fight to ensure ranchers are

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today joined a bipartisan effort to help support Montana ranchers by calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to immediately suspend fresh beef imports from Brazil.  “Cattle producers across the country work hard to produce the highest quality beef in the world,” the letter states. “This industry should not be jeopardized by Brazilian beef imports that may contaminate U.S. herds and our food supply. We support the requests to suspend Brazilian fresh beef imports until a thorough investigation can be made into Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Supply food safety review process.” Read the full letter HERE. In 2017,

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to close the gap in coverage for Montana farmers and ranchers who were impacted by this year’s devastating drought. “While livestock producers welcomed these improvements to ELAP assistance, we continue to hear from producers who have been severely affected by drought this year and have incurred costs related to transporting their livestock to feed sources instead of hauling feed to their livestock.  Under current regulations, these producers are not eligible for ELAP transportation assistance.  We respectfully request that FSA exercise its authority to further improve ELAP by providing payments to producers for a portion of the costs

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines today helped introduce the “Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act.” The bill is part of Daines’ efforts to return fairness to the cattle marketplace dominated by four major meat packers. “We must bring transparency to the cattle market to ensure Montana ranchers are competing on a level playing field and receiving the fairest price for their beef. This bill is an important step forward to ensuring the largest packers can no longer manipulate the market,” Daines writes.  The “Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act” will:  Establish regional mandatory minimum thresholds of negotiated cash and negotiated grid

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines is returning from a successful trip to India where he met with India’s top trade official, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, and Indian pulse crop buyers to improve market access for Montana farmers and promote Montana pulse crops. Daines’ visit comes ahead of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum later this month, in which Daines urged Montana ag priorities be front and center during the discussion. “We must level the playing field and increase access to the Indian market for Montana’s pulse crop farmers. Developing these relationships with India’s top trade officials and India’s pulse crop importers

U.S. SENATE — U.S. Senator Steve Daines will be in India this week to meet with top trade officials, including India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, as part of his efforts to improve access to this critical market for Montana pulse crop farmers. “Agriculture is Montana’s number one economic driver and part of our way of life. Leveling the playing field and opening markets for Montana farmers is a top priority of mine, especially with India. With Montana being the number one producer of pulse crops in the nation, and India being the largest consumer of pulse crops in the world, it’s a

U.S. CONGRESS– U.S. Senators Steve Daines and Jon Tester and Congressman Matt Rosendale today announced that they secured a Major Disaster Declaration to help communities in northeast Montana recover from a severe windstorm that left many without power. This announcement comes after the Montana delegation sent a letter to President Biden making this request.  “Families, farmers, ranchers and businesses in northeast Montana have been struggling since the dangerous windstorm in June. I’m glad to see relief coming to Montana to help with repairs that will get folks back to everyday life,” Daines said. “This summer’s extreme weather has wreaked havoc across our state,