The National Farmers Union, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association and 11 other groups last week asked the Senate Agriculture Committee to hold a hearing on reauthorization of the Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting rule.

The rule, established in 1999, mandates price reporting for cattle, boxed beef, swine and lamb. It is reauthorized every five years, with the current program expiring on Sept. 30.

“This year represents an opportunity to make meaningful change to the program to increase transparency and true price discovery,” the groups said in a news release.

That statement appeared to be a veiled reference to S. 3693, a bill Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Jon Tester, D-Mont., introduced in May to require a minimum of 50% of each packer processing plant’s weekly volume of beef slaughter to come as a result of purchases made on the open market or spot market, defined as those purchases which fall under negotiated purchase sales.

Grassley has said that Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., does not support that bill. Grassley said he fears Roberts will move to reauthorize the Mandatory Livestock Reporting Rule in an omnibus bill that cannot be amended.