In an effort to receive feedback regarding current livestock and meat marketing methods and the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will host a series of stakeholder meetings that begin next week.

The meetings will serve as part of a Congress-assigned study regarding the marketing of livestock and meat products covered by the LMR program. In the study, AMS will analyze current marketing practices, as well as the price and supply information reporting services of LMR markets, and identify recommendations made by producers, packers, and other market participants to improve the information provided under the program.

In the first meeting, to be held Nov. 15-16, 2016, at the Hall of the States in Washington, D.C, AMS will provide stakeholders with an overview of current LMR reporting and audit processes and allow stakeholders to participate in interest-based problem-solving training and identify possible dates for the future meetings.

Future meetings will be held starting in the spring of 2017 and will feature focus group for each of the following livestock commodity groups: cattle and beef; swine and pork; and sheep, lamb, and imported lamb.

Voluntary participants include the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), the American Sheep Industry, CME Group, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), National Farmers Union (NFU), and the National Pork Producers Council(NPPC), among others.

By March 1, 2018, USDA will submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report containing the findings of this study.