“For Show” or “For Real”
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
Washington is a town where investigations can last for years and cost millions of taxpayer dollars. Some investigations happen in order to check a box before moving onto the next task. We all know in D.C. there are two types of investigations. Investigations that are “for show” and investigations that are “for real.”
In cattle country we need an investigation “for real.”
Times have been tough for cattle producers, especially throughout the last couple of years. South Dakotans have faced unprecedented hard weather – as recent as last week, folks are facing flooded fields and their cows are stranded on flooded plains.
Despite tough times, the producers I know don’t ask for guarantees or handouts, all they want is a fair chance to earn a living. Unfortunately, cattle prices have been soft, and those producers’ tight margins don’t allow for huge swings for our feeders and to our ranchers.
Following the Holcomb fire, the market experienced extreme volatility. The producers I know are smart and savvy professionals—they expressed that the immediate aftermath of the fire caused serious damage to the long-term viability of their business and to their way of life.
USDA has taken notice—I’m grateful Secretary Perdue and USDA acted expediently and opened an investigation under the Packers and Stockyards Act into the cattle market. An investigation like this does not happen every day. Many folks in South Dakota are anxiously awaiting the results. I know that I am.
It’s for these reasons that Congress gave USDA oversight authority. Every indication from USDA gives me a good feeling that they are conducting this investigation “for real.” I believe they are doing their best to gather and analyze the pertinent data.
It’s imperative our agencies continue to pay attention as Congress intended. USDA wants to get to the bottom of this and rightly so. They want to determine if there has been unfair trade practices or market manipulation.
Making that kind of a serious determination won’t be easy. It will require real effort, real persistence, and a real willingness to dig deep.
As I said at the beginning, there are two types of investigations in this town, those that are “for show” and those that are “for real.” It looks like USDA is conducting this investigation “for real,” and thank goodness for that.
Our cow-calf producers deserve it, our feedlots deserve it, and our country deserves it.
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