**The National Cattlemen's Beef Association welcomes the introduction of bipartisan legislation to improve the marketing environment for cattle producers.

Introduced by South Dakota Republican Representative Dusty Johnson and bipartisan cosponsors, the Price Reform in Cattle Economics Act addresses several areas of critical importance for cattle producers.

Included in the bill are existing proposals to open new markets for state-inspected beef products, and new provisions to aid producer-owned beef processing facilities and increase transparency in fed cattle

transactions.

**The antitrust class-action lawsuit alleging America's largest beef packers conspired to fix cattle prices has been dismissed.

According to agrimarketing.com, Federal Judge John Tunheim of Minnesota's U.S. District Court issued his ruling last week and gave plaintiff's 90 days to file an amended complaint.

Tunheim says the ranchers and consumers who brought the case "do little to allege how the individual defendants acted," making it impossible to evaluate the "alternative economic explanations" offered by the meatpackers.

**More than 100 million food boxes have now been delivered to families needing assistance during the pandemic, according to a USDA announcement last week.

The Farmers to Families Food Box Program purchases fresh produce, meat, milk and dairy products to be included in food boxes distributed to food banks and other agencies.

A third round of purchases has extended the program through October.

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