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PRESS RELEASE

LMA Hosts 2022 Washington D.C. Fly In

September 28, 2022

Overland Park, Kan.

Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) members and staff traveled to Washington D.C. September 18-20, 2022, for the LMA D.C. Fly In. This was the first LMA D.C. Fly In hosted by the association since spring of 2020. Over the course of two days, approximately 50 LMA members and staff met with Senators, U.S. Representatives, Congressional staff people, and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials.

LMA members advocated for Congress to pass bills that would update an outdated Packers and Stockyards Act rule prohibiting owning both a livestock auction and a packer. This is an antiquated rule that predates the current, transparent method of selling livestock at an open auction. A pair of bills would address this issue by allowing livestock auction owners to invest in small and regional packers. At the same time, very large packers would still be prohibited from owning a livestock auction.  The Amplifying Processing of Livestock in the United States (A-PLUS) Act (H.R. 7438) is being championed by Representatives Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA). The Senate companion, the Expanding Local Meat Processing Act (S.4709) is being championed by Senators Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) and Joni Ernst (R-IA). LMA members also spoke about a need to update Packers and Stockyards Act prompt payment requirements due to slowing mail service and a desire to incentivize electronic payment as the more efficient method.

Fly In attendees also met with leadership of the USDA Packers and Stockyards (P&S) Division; Andy Green, USDA Senior Advisor for Fair and Competitive Markets; and Dr. Rosemary Sifford, Chief Veterinary Officer of the United States and USDA APHIS VS Deputy Administrator.

In addition to meetings with legislators and regulators, LMA hosted a briefing to educate staff of the House of Representatives and Senate on the livestock marketing industry. The briefing featured Will Epperly, 2022 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion, mock selling pies to legislative staff to simulate the process of buyers purchasing livestock in an auction market.

“I’m thrilled with the LMA members and staff who took time out of their busy schedules to engage with decision makers at the D.C. Fly In” said Chelsea Good, LMA Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs & Legal. “Participants made an important commitment not only for their own businesses but our industry as a whole. Developing personal relationships with legislative offices, building a base understanding of the livestock marketing industry, and discussing current issues are all key to making sure livestock market interests are well represented in federal policy.”

LMA members who attended this year’s D.C. Fly In were Jim Akers, Ky.; Randel Arnett, Ky.; Mark Barnett, Tn. & Ky.; Jade Baumeister, Texas; Will Epperly, Iowa; Jerry Etheredge, Ala.; Sara Evans, Ky.; Darrell Ford, Ark.; Aimee, Ben and Seth Hale, Texas & Okla.; Ashley and Peyton Hale, Okla.; Jennifer Houston, Tenn.; Alisha Hudson-Roach, Va.; Matt and Wendy Huntley, Kan. & Okla.; Cale and Nicole James, Okla.; Bracken Marburger, Texas.; Paike, Sami and Skye McNiel, Okla.; Joe Nelson, Minn.; Jake Parnell, Calif.; Brody Peak, Kan.; George Raftopoulus, Colo.; Steve Sterchi, Ky.; Mike VanMaanen, Mo.; Melody Varner, Okla.; Chandra and Ryan Wegener, Kan.; Elizabeth and Ryan Zeltwanger, Kan.; and Cheyenne and Zach Zumstein, Idaho.

LMA staff who attended D.C. Fly In included Natalie Ayers, Communications and Strategic Media Coordinator; Joe Barbour, Region Executive Officer; Pierce Bennett, Director of Government and Industry Affairs; Jesse Carver, Region Executive Officer; Chelsea Good, Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs & Legal; Izabella Michitsch, Director of Events; Jara Settles, General Counsel & Vice President of Risk Mitigation; Lucas Simmer, Government and Industry Affairs Administrator; Dan Stark, Chief Financial Officer, Craig Taylor, Region Executive Officer; and Cynthia Zamora, Financial Risk Mitigation Associate.

Local livestock markets across the country work hard to bring in multiple buyers to bid competitively on sale day, providing true price discovery of the value of all types of livestock, maximizing the return to the seller. At the same time, they provide buyers with a centralized location with a ready supply of livestock in the offering. The D.C. Fly In is an opportunity to share with policy makers the importance of these businesses and to ensure that they are not overly regulated in ways that impede progress.


About the Livestock Marketing Association

The Livestock Marketing Association (LMA), headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., is North America’s leading, national trade association dedicated to serving its members in the open and competitive auction method of marketing livestock. Founded in 1947, LMA has more than 800 member businesses across the U.S. and Canada and remains invested in both the livestock and livestock marketing industries through member support, education programs, policy representation and communication efforts.



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November 2, 2023

Florida auction market bounces back after Category 3 hurricane

As Hurricane Idalia grew closer to Florida’s Big Bend on Monday, August 28 — just two days before it would hit land — many residents were prepping for the storm. But for Alvin “Ab” Townsend and his nephew Rick Greiner, there was a different kind of preparation taking place. Tuesday is sale day at their Townsend Livestock Market, and it was business as usual, despite the uncertainty of what might come. “I started calling some of our buyers,” Greiner says. “And as long as they were going to buy cattle, we were going to have a sale.” So, sell cattle they did. They got through 400 head before they needed to shut down and head home. Early Wednesday morning, the Category 3 hurricane made landfall. Greiner couldn’t get out of his house, but Townsend — along with his wife and sister — were able to drive to the auction market that’s been in the family for four generations. At first, he thought they were at the wrong place. “It didn’t look anything like our place,” Townsend says. “Everything was just on the dirt. The building, our pens, everything was just on the dirt.” Moving On  Before Wednesday had ended, the family had called John Kissee, regional executive officer at Livestock Marketing Association. As longtime members, as well as clients of the association’s Livestock Marketing Insurance Agency, they knew they were covered.  Kissee understood Ab and Rick would want to move quickly but took time to ensure all bases were covered, insurance-wise. Kissee called back the following day, as promised. He told them the tear down and clean up could begin after taking photos to document the damage. By Monday, excavators were scraping the slab where the auction market once stood. Greiner says they had no choice but to move quickly, and they had no intention of missing more than one sale day. They started getting pens up and brainstorming how they’d hold the following week’s auction with less-than-ideal infrastructure.  To be safe, they didn’t advertise. And yet, they still got 400 head. It went well and they doubled their numbers the following week. Of course, there were challenges to selling in such makeshift facilities — like the Tuesday it rained all day and there was no barn to offer cover. But Greiner says they remained grateful through it all. “You don’t have to look very far to see somebody who’s got it worse than what we had,” he says. “We’re just lucky to be back to work and selling good cattle for our good producers.” A Helping Hand Both men are quick to credit the role Livestock Marketing Insurance Agency played in their recovery efforts. “I wouldn’t want to imagine not having Mr. John to call,” Greiner says.  Townsend agrees. “The thing with insurance,” the third-generation auction market operator says, “is you don’t need it until something happens. But then when something happens you better thank the Good Lord you had it. Because what would we have done?” Not only did Kissee and the insurance adjuster make the process a breeze, but Townsend says it never felt like a business transaction. “They’re more than just a company,” he says. “LMIA is a group of people who cares.”