Cattle ranchers get more time to comment on how meatpackers set prices

The US Department of Agriculture is extending the public comment period for a proposed rule about how cattle prices are set. This means ranchers and others in the beef industry have an extra 30 days to weigh in on changes to fairness and price discovery rules.

For years, cattle ranchers have complained that a few large meatpacking companies control too much of the market. They say this allows packers to dictate prices, leaving ranchers with little power. This extension gives more time for those directly affected to push for rules that could shift some of that power back to the producers.