AGs From 20 States
Urge Price Reports

HELENA, Mont. —(AP)— Montana Attorney General Joe Mazurek has joined attorneys general from 19 other states in urging Congress to require meatpackers to make public information about the prices they are paying for livestock.

"Addressing the problems caused by anti-competitive practices and failure to disclose market information is one of the changes we need to make," to maintain a sustainable farm or rural economy in Montana, Mazurek said in a press release.

The state officials support congressional approval of a program that would allow livestock producers to compare the prices and terms offered by packers on both cash sales and forward contracts.

They noted that four beef packing companies account for more than 87 percent of all cattle slaughter and five pork packers slaughter 60 percent of hogs.

In a letter to representatives and senators working on a final version of the fiscal year 1999 agriculture appropriations bill, the 20 attorneys general called for a three-year pilot program requiring packers to report to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture information on prices and terms of all sales.

"Unfortunately, accurate price discovery is increasingly difficult in livestock markets," the letter said.

The attorneys general said they were concerned about "anti-competitive practices and behaviors."

The letter, delivered last week, was signed by attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.