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Livestock Consolidation Research Act of 2026
To require the Administrator of the Economic Research Service to conduct research on consolidation and concentration in the livestock industry, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service to publish a report within one year of each Census of Agriculture on consolidation and concentration in the livestock industry. The report must examine changes in the size and location of farms, ranches, processing facilities, and packers, and analyze impacts on farmers, ranchers, and consumers in areas such as financial effects, market entry, access to resources, and dietary impacts. The report must draw on agricultural data from the Secretary of Agriculture, including census data and inspection records, while excluding confidential business information. The bill defines livestock to include beef, dairy, pork, and poultry production, and requires separate analysis of beef cattle by operation type.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN] (D-MN)
2 cosponsors
- Sen. Grassley, Chuck [R-IA] (R-IA)
- Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI] (D-MI)
Actions (2)
- Mar 24, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. · senate
- Mar 24, 2026 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 24, 2026
Ms. Smith (for herself, Mr. Grassley, and Ms. Slotkin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
A BILL
To require the Administrator of the Economic Research Service to conduct research on consolidation and concentration in the livestock industry, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Livestock Consolidation Research Act of 2026”.
SEC. 2. LIVESTOCK CONSOLIDATION RESEARCH.
(a) In General.—Not later than 1 year after the date on which each latest Census of Agriculture is made publicly available, the Administrator of the Economic Research Service shall publish a report on consolidation and concentration in the livestock industry, including—
(1) changes in the size and location of ranches, farms, processing facilities, and packers throughout the United States; and
(2) the impact of the changes described in paragraph (1) on farmers, ranchers, and downstream consumers, including—
(A) financial impacts;
(B) market entry impacts;
(C) access to resources and inputs, including processing facilities; and
(D) dietary impacts.
(b) Sources of Information.—In preparing a report under subsection
(a), the Administrator of the Economic Research Service shall draw on data available to the Secretary of Agriculture, including the Census of Agriculture, inspection records of the Food Safety and Inspection Service, and the packing plant data of the Packers and Stockyards Division of the Agricultural Marketing Service.
(c) Report Organization.—The report under subsection (a) shall separate information on beef cattle by cow-calf and fed cattle operations.
(d) Confidentiality.—A report published under subsection (a) shall not contain any confidential business information.
(e) Definition of Livestock.—In this section, the term “livestock” includes beef, dairy, pork, and poultry production (including broilers, eggs, and turkeys). <all>
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