Livestock Marketing Association, or LMA, applauds the reintroduction of the Amplifying Processing of Livestock in the United States, or A-PLUS, Act in the 119th Congress.

Brody Peak, chairman of the association’s government and industry affairs committee, said the bill (SB 782, HR 1648) would remove an outdated restriction prohibiting livestock auction market owners from owning or investing in a small or regional packer or meat marketing business.

“Livestock auction market owners deserve the freedom to operate,” he said. “If they choose to supplement their marketing business by owning a local meat locker or investing in a regional packer, this should be encouraged, not banned.”

Lee Mora, an auction market owner from Fortuna, California, echoed Peak’s sentiment.

“Rural communities are losing agriculture infrastructure that is critical to the ability of ranchers to diversify with value added products,” he said. “Having local processing is vital to keeping these family operations thriving. In many cases, there is little to no outside investment that can be made to keep these plants open.”

“Allowing registered livestock market owners to invest in these smaller plants is essential to keeping local processing plants operating in these rural communities. It allows for competition at the livestock market which helps both entities thrive and ultimately benefits the local ranching community.”

LMA appreciates Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) for leading this effort.