WASHINGTON –Chairman David Scott says he will be introducing legislation to help small family farmers and ranchers and address the national crisis in our nation’s beef supply chain:

“What has been missing from the conversation is help for the very beginning of our food supply chain, which is our nation’s small family farmers and ranchers. And, helping our nation’s small family farmers is one of my top priorities.

My bill will apply to small family farmers and ranchers. According to USDA, the average beef cattle herd is 44 head, and operations of 100 or fewer beef cattle account for 90 percent of all farms and 44 percent of the beef cattle inventory.

Yet, we are losing an average of 17,000 cattle ranchers per year. This is a national crisis.

To that end, I will be introducing a bill to provide small cattle farmers and ranchers with relief and long-term opportunities to increase their market power.

First, my bill creates a new program that strengthens the Federal safety net and makes insurance products work better for small cattle farmers and ranchers, both in terms of coverage and accessibility.

The second pillar establishes a grant program at USDA to help small farmers and ranchers and producer-owned cooperatives to undertake innovative business initiatives.

By developing more direct-to-consumer and direct-to-institution markets, my legislation will give small farmers and ranchers more control over where they sell their cattle or meat products and provide them with opportunities to add value to their products and increase their profitability.