Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns Archive
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Contact:
Heather Vaughan,
202-347-0228, or hvaughan@beef.org.
The Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns (CCC) is a weekly report from Washington, D.C., giving an up-to-date summary of top policy initiatives concerning the cattle industry; direct from the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). Please feel free to reprint in full or in part. If you would like to include NCBA's logo, contact us at 303-694-0305. | |
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OIG Report on Hallmark-Westland Released:
On December 9, 2008, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released an audit report entitled, "Evaluation of FSIS Management Controls Over Pre-Slaughter Activities." This audit was performed at the request of the Secretary of Agriculture following events occurring at the Hallmark-Westland Meat Packing Company (Hallmark) in Chino, California.
The objective of this audit was to determine what inspection controls and/or processes may have broken down at Hallmark and whether the events that took place there are isolated or systemic. The OIG evaluated the adequacy of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service's (FSIS) pre-slaughter controls and determined whether improvements are needed to identify and prevent similar incidents from occurring elsewhere.
Additionally, OIG evaluated the effectiveness of FSIS' controls over the removal of Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) from cattle, as well as FSIS' inspector generated sampling program for residues at cull cow establishments
OIG indicates that they will conduct a more in-depth review of the effectiveness of the National Residue Program in a future audit report. OIG admits they had limited information because Hallmark is no longer in operation and made their assessment of the Hallmark facility through interviews and review of available records, where possible.
To make the assessment of whether or not the events that took place are isolated or evidence of a systemic problem, OIG also evaluated the adequacy of FSIS' pre-slaughter controls at ten other cull cow slaughter establishments. OIG made 25 recommendations to FSIS and the report includes FSIS' responses. These recommendations can be categorized into 3 main areas: Sufficiency and Competency of Inspection Resources, Management Controls and SRM Verification Activities. Management decisions were reached on all recommendations.
The report is available online at http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/24601-07-KC.pdf.
NCBA will continue to more fully evaluate this OIG audit report and update members. NCBA fully supports strict compliance and accurate, complete and consistent enforcement of the existing Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act.
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Kansas Chosen as Site for National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF)
On Friday, December 5, 2008 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate released the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), recommending Manhattan, Kansas as the preferred site for the state-of the-art, high-security laboratory facility to study foreign animal and zoonotic (transferable from animal to human) diseases that can impact livestock.
NBAF is intended to replace the Plum Island facility, where foreign animal disease research has been conducted by the U.S. Government for decades. The funding for Plum Island has not been timely enough or adequate to keep the facility up-to-date.
Foreign animal disease research is critical to protecting the health of our livestock. While NCBA believes that a new and modern facility is essential, our support of the facility is dependent on a continued commitment from Congress, USDA, and DHS to ensure this facility is properly funded and maintained, so it does not fall into poor condition in a manner similar to Plum Island.It is also essential that NBAF have in place multiple layers of biosecurity and maintain the strictest safety protocols to prevent any kind of a release of diseases being studied.
The livestock industry faces multiple threats and circumstances that didn't exist when Plum Island was built in New York decades ago. It will take advanced facilities and research methods to protect the food supply, including our livestock and meat, from disease threats that exist in today's age of global commerce.
The importance of maintaining and enhancing animal-related research, vaccine development, diagnostics and training to protect animal agriculture must be maintained and enhanced at the new facility. NCBA supports building the facility under a carefully planned and funded operating and construction budget. The operational budget should broaden the list of animal and animal-related diseases being studied, enhance current Plum Island educational efforts, and target efforts on developing diagnostics, preventives and therapies, and minimization of risk should a FAD outbreak occur.
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WTO Releases Revised Negotiating Documents on Agriculture:
On December 6, 2008, the World Trade Organization (WTO) released revised papers presenting formulas for cutting tariffs and trade-distorting agricultural subsidies, and related provisions.
This is the fourth revision of the agricultural texts, which were originally presented in July of 2007. Presented by Agriculture Negotiating Group Chair Crawford Falconer and Non-Agricultural Market Access Committee Chair Luzius Wasescha, these documents are the result of the latest negotiations, and would be the focus of future negotiations in the Doha Round.
The papers reflect the agreements reached on numerous subjects in July of 2008, and clearly define issues of contention that remain.
The next step is negotiating these areas of the Doha Round in comparison with each other with the hope that agreement can be reached later in December 2008, when a representative group of ministers could be in Geneva.
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GAO Report on Regulation of Genetically Engineered Crops:
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report on genetically engineered (GE) crop regulation. Originally provided to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry in November, the report addresses unauthorized releases of GE crops, coordination among the three agencies regulating GE crops, and additional actions to improve oversight.
GE crops are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although there have been unauthorized releases of GE crops, there is no evidence that the six known releases affected human or animal health.
However, to prevent further unauthorized releases, GAO recommends that USDA, EPA, and FDA improve the coordination of their oversight and regulation of GE crops. Specifically, they call on FDA to make public the results of its food safety assessments of GE crops. Additionally, they recommend that USDA and FDA develop an agreement to share information on GE crops with traits that, if released into the food or feed supply, could cause health concerns. Lastly, they suggest that USDA, EPA, and FDA develop a risk-based strategy for monitoring the widespread use of marketed GE crops.
The full report is titled, "Genetically Engineered Crops; Agencies Are Proposing Changes to Improve Oversight, but Could Take Additional Steps to Enhance Coordination and Monitoring" and is available online athttp://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0960.pdf.
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GIPSA Meeting on Claims Against Agriprocessors, Inc.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Grain, Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) will hold a public meeting on December 15, 2008 in Dubuque, IA to inform livestock and poultry producers who did business with Agriprocessors, Inc. of their rights under the livestock and poultry growers trust provisions of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
GIPSA will provide information and forms necessary for filing claims on payments due by Agriprocessors, Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on November 4, 2008.
Meeting information follows:
December 15, 2008
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Grand Harbor Resort's Platinum A Room
350 Bell Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
Call In:
877-812-4788, passcode 8645405
Questions and comments can be addressed to Gregory.a.andrews@usda.gov |
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Misinformation Continues on Greenhouse Gases Regulation under the Clean Air Act:
NCBA continues to respond to media inquiries regarding the so-called "cow tax" by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). We are working hard to correct the incorrect information about greenhouse gas regulation.
There is no proposal at this time to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act (CAA) or to enact a "cow tax."
The EPA issued and sought comment in an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) in large part to inform the public about the devastating effects regulating GHGs would have on every sector of our economy, including agriculture.
NCBA strongly opposes the regulation of GHGs under the CAA and has submitted comments to the EPA in opposition to this approach for addressing climate change issues.
Because the CAA is ill-suited to regulate GHGs, Congress has debated and will continue to debate regulating GHGs under a more appropriate cap-and-trade program.
NCBA will continue to work with Congress and the Administration in an effort to ensure that climate change legislation impacts cattle producers to the least extent possible. It is our hope that the entire agriculture industry will continue to be considered a solution to the climate change issue, instead of part of the problem.
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NCBA Hosts Webinar on Enhanced Feed Ban:
On Monday, December 8th, NCBA hosted a webinar for producers and industry leaders regarding the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Enhanced Feed Ban Rule, set to go into effect on April 27, 2009. The webinar boasted presentations by the FDA as well as the National Renderers Association (NRA), concerning rule implementation, the documentation needed and the effects on the industry.
The FDA released the final Enhanced Feed Ban Rule in April, 2008. Implementation was delayed for a year to allow for industry compliance. The Enhanced Feed Ban Rule amends FDA's existing regulations to prohibit the use of certain cattle origin materials within the food or feed of all animals. These prohibited materials include: the entire carcass of BSE positive cattle, brains and spinal cords from cattle 30 months of age or older, the entire carcass of cattle not inspected and passed for human consumption that are 30 months of age or older from which brains and spinal cords were not removed, tallow derived from BSE positive cattle, tallow derived from other prohibited materials that contain more the .15 percent insoluble impurities and mechanically separated beef that is derived from prohibited materials.
NCBA is collecting questions from producers and industry leaders and is following up with both the FDA and NRA. NCBA will continue to work with our industry partners in ensuring a smooth implementation of the Enhanced Feed Ban Rule. |
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NCBA Meets with USDA Transition Team:
NCBA Vice President of Government Relations Burton Eller and Public Lands Council (PLC) Executive Director Jeff Eisenberg participated in meeting on December 8th between Agriculture industry leaders and President-Elect Barack Obama's Transition Team. Participants discussed the upcoming industry priorities.
For NCBA these included: the continued opening and expansion of international beef markets; eliminating the death tax; reducing the Capital Gains and Alternative Minimum Taxes; implementing the Clean Water Act CAFO Rule; preventing dust to be regulated under the Clean Air Act; ending governmental intervention in the markets for feedstocks and ensuring protein and lean beef are recognized as good sources of nutrition in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines.
This meeting will be followed up with a meeting with the Agriculture, Interior and Environmental Protection Agency Transition Teams on Monday, December 15th. Eller, Eisenberg and NCBA National President Andy Groseta will participate in these meetings.
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APHIS Seeking Comments on Approval to Export Animals or Animal Products to U.S.:
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is seeking comments on the process by which other nations may request approval to export animals or animal products to the United States based on the risk from that region.
Each request must include information about the region, including information on the veterinary services organization of the region; the extent to which movement of animals and animal products is controlled from regions of higher risk and the level of biosecurity for such movements; livestock demographics and marketing practices in the region; diagnostic laboratory capabilities in the region; and the region's policies and infrastructure for animal disease control.
Additionally, APHIS requires regions that have been granted status under the regulations to provide information confirming the regions' animal health status when APHIS requests it.
Comments are due by January 20, 2009. |
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Update on USDA Regional Tuberculosis Listening Sessions:
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is looking into potential changes to the current bovine tuberculosis program to help meet current challenges. To this end, they have scheduled a series of public meetings on tuberculosis to gain stakeholder input. The meetings are open to the public and are formatted as listening sessions. USDA's focus is on gathering ideas from stakeholders. Each meeting begins with a brief overview of the status of TB in today's agricultural landscape and the challenges USDA faces in efforts to respond to this disease. Then, participants break into smaller groups to discuss innovative ways to address every aspect of the TB program, such as responding to outbreaks, improving surveillance, and developing useful, effective regulations.
NCBA agrees the current TB program needs to be updated and appreciates USDA hosting these listening sessions, providing the opportunity for producer input. The national tuberculosis eradication program has successfully reduced the incidence of the disease in United States (U.S.) cattle, but there continues to be a low incidence of TB as evidenced by the newly identified infected herds over the past several years. As we struggle to deal with the impacts of the current TB episodes in the near term, we are also extremely interested in working with USDA to improve the national TB program to ensure that we meet its long term goal of protecting human and animal health by eradicating the disease from our nation's cattle herd. Among the many items that need to be addressed are adequate funding of the APHIS TB program, adequate federal research funding in order to progress knowledge of disease and improve testing, surveillance, diagnosis, as well as decrease the need for depopulation, improvements in epidemiology, improved coordination among federal agencies and between federal and state agencies, management of wildlife reservoirs and changes to the state classification system.
Three of the 5 scheduled listening sessions have been completed this week (Michigan on December 8th, Minnesota on December 10th and Texas on December 11th), with the remaining sessions scheduled at the following locations:
California - Friday, December 12, 2008
Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, 1230 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Washington, DC - Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Renaissance M Street Hotel, 1143 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037
Registration begins at 7:00 a.m., and the sessions run from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
In Brief:
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety Elizabeth Johnson has left the agency to become Executive Vice President of Public Affairs for the National Restaurant Association.
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Don't Miss the Award-Winning NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen:
Don't miss NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen! On the show airing from December 16th through December 21st, we look at how premises registration has made a positive impact on cattle ranches from Oregon to Colorado to Michigan.
Then, from December 23rd through December 28th, we bring you our favorite recipes from NCBA Chef Michaele Musel. Join us for tips on how to make a great pot roast and a recipe perfect for a busy family.
NCBA'S Cattlemen to Cattlemen debuts Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. The show also airs Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. and on Sunday at 12:00 a.m. (All Times are Eastern) Don't forget, you can watch NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen online anytime by visiting CattlemenToCattlemen.org.
NCBA's Cattlemen to Cattlemen on RFD-TV provides weekly news and features for cattle producers across the country. It airs every Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, with repeat episodes on Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. and Sundays at midnight (all times Eastern).
The program's sponsors include Purina Mills, Fort Dodge Animal Health, Dow AgroSciences, Bayer Animal Health and McDonald's.
For more information or to check out past episodes, visit www.cattlementocattlemen.org. | |
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NATIONAL CATTLEMEN'S BEEF ASSOCIATION
1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20004 | |
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