[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4168 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4168

   To require the Administrator of the Economic Research Service to 
 conduct research on consolidation and concentration in the livestock 
                   industry, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 24, 2026

 Ms. Smith (for herself, Mr. Grassley, and Ms. Slotkin) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Administrator of the Economic Research Service to 
 conduct research on consolidation and concentration in the livestock 
                   industry, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Livestock Consolidation Research Act 
of 2026''.

SEC. 2. LIVESTOCK CONSOLIDATION RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date on which each 
latest Census of Agriculture is made publicly available, the 
Administrator of the Economic Research Service shall publish a report 
on consolidation and concentration in the livestock industry, 
including--
            (1) changes in the size and location of ranches, farms, 
        processing facilities, and packers throughout the United 
        States; and
            (2) the impact of the changes described in paragraph (1) on 
        farmers, ranchers, and downstream consumers, including--
                    (A) financial impacts;
                    (B) market entry impacts;
                    (C) access to resources and inputs, including 
                processing facilities; and
                    (D) dietary impacts.
    (b) Sources of Information.--In preparing a report under subsection 
(a), the Administrator of the Economic Research Service shall draw on 
data available to the Secretary of Agriculture, including the Census of 
Agriculture, inspection records of the Food Safety and Inspection 
Service, and the packing plant data of the Packers and Stockyards 
Division of the Agricultural Marketing Service.
    (c) Report Organization.--The report under subsection (a) shall 
separate information on beef cattle by cow-calf and fed cattle 
operations.
    (d) Confidentiality.--A report published under subsection (a) shall 
not contain any confidential business information.
    (e) Definition of Livestock.--In this section, the term 
``livestock'' includes beef, dairy, pork, and poultry production 
(including broilers, eggs, and turkeys).
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