Today, following a release from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Livestock and Foreign Agriculture Subcommittee Chairman Jim Costa of California applauded the agency’s move to protect unpaid livestock sellers through a Dealer Statutory Trust:

“I am pleased that USDA has taken the necessary steps to put these protections in place for the benefit of livestock sellers throughout our country. I co-led bipartisan bills to establish this trust in the 115th and 116th Congresses, and I look forward to working with the experts at USDA to ensure farmers and ranchers are not left bearing the costs of dealer defaults.”

Modeled after the existing Packer Statutory Trust, the new Dealer Statutory Trust was authorized through the Consolidated Appropriations Act that was signed into law last December.