Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns Archive
Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
October 9, 2008
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.
Trade Restrictions Cost Cattlemen $11 Billion in Lost Sales:
The International Trade Commission (ITC) released a report on October 8, 2008 estimating that trade restrictions resulting from Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) cost the cattle industry $11 billion from 2004 to 2007.
NCBA has worked tirelessly to remove unwarranted restrictions and regain lost export markets since 2004, and contributed data, briefings, and testimony to the ITC for this report.
“Opening markets and advocating for science-based standards of trade remain top priorities for NCBA,” explains Arizona cattle producer and NCBA President Andy Groseta. “This report confirms what cattle producers have known for years. It serves a critical purpose in helping everyone understand the size and scope of the economic losses our industry suffers as a result of unfair trade restrictions.”
Farm-gate sales of cattle and calves during the period between 2004 and 2007 were $195.5 billion, so the $11 billion in losses estimated by the ITC translates to 5.6 percent of cattle producers’ income. The report also estimated that tariffs and tariff-rate quota (TRQ) restrictions cost the industry another $6.3 billion from 2004 to 2007.
NCBA Chief Economist Gregg Doud praised the thoroughness of the report, saying, “This illustrates the many economic consequences resulting from global tariff and non-tariff trade barriers. Trade restrictions continue to hurt our industry, costing cattle producers considerable amounts in lost sales.” Doud continued, “I appreciate the foresight shown by Senator Max Baucus in commissioning this study. The analysis helps demonstrate why opening markets is so important.”
The report noted that BSE-related trade restrictions on U.S. beef are not based in science, saying, “As of May 2007, the United States has been recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as a controlled risk country with regard to BSE. However, certain countries…impose restrictions on U.S. beef that are more stringent than the OIE guidelines for a controlled risk country.” The full report is available online at http://hotdocs.usitc.gov/docs/pubs/332/pub4033.pdf.
Food Safety Tool Shut Down Due to Lack of Funding:
The Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) is shutting down due to lack of funding. FARAD is a tool used by veterinarians and producers to ensure that drug residues and other contaminants do not end up in meat. The program is run by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), in partnership with North Carolina State University, the University of Florida and the University of California-Davis. To remain functional, the program needed long-term funding of $2.5 million per year. Although FARAD was authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, it was not included in USDA’s budget, and Congress has not provided appropriations to fund the program.
NCBA continues to press for funding for FARAD, providing testimony and other information to Congress to demonstrate the need for the program.
Department of the Interior Loses Case on Great Lakes Wolves:
On September 28, 2008, a Federal District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on the Humane Society v. Kempthorne—an attempt to strike down the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) decision to remove a cluster of gray wolves from the endangered species list. The cluster of wolves belongs to the Great Lakes Distinct Population Segment (DPS).
The principal legal question in the case is whether the Endangered Species Act (ESA) authorizes the use of DPS to simultaneously list and delist species, which is what occurred in this instance. The court ruled that the regulation is ambiguous on this point and remanded the delisting rule to the Fish and Wildlife Service to address the ambiguity. The ruling effectively returns the Great Lakes gray wolves to the endangered species list.
Wolves present a significant problem to ranchers, who suffer losses of cattle due to wolf predation.
The Public Lands Council and NCBA will meet with DOI officials to determine whether to appeal the decision or revise the rule. In the meantime, management of the wolves has been returned to the federal government. We will report back to our members as we learn more information about the government’s plans for the case.
White House Announces Program to Increase Public Access to Private Land:
Last week, at the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) would open private lands to the public for hunting, fishing, bird watching, and other recreational activities.
Schafer explained the initiative in a release, saying, "The Conservation Reserve Program is the largest public-private partnership for conservation and wildlife habitat in the nation and we expect robust participation in this initiative. It will provide better access and allow more efficient management of game populations while allowing CRP participants to continue to provide vital environmental benefits such as improving air and water quality, enhancing wildlife habitat and reducing erosion."
In the next five years, USDA will aim to double public access by providing up to 7 million acres of CRP land for public access in 21 participating states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming. The public access incentive will pay $3 per acre, per year, for the life of the CRP contract, provided the contract acres remain enrolled in the state public access program. This incentive will be available to CRP participants with new or existing CRP contracts.
The partnership with existing state public access programs will enhance the ability of state game departments to use hunting seasons as a wildlife management tool. It also allows those participating in the CRP program to continue providing environmental benefits such as improving air and water quality and reducing erosion.
USDA & DOE Announce National Biofuels Action Plan:
On October 7, 2008, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Ed Schafer and Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel Bodman released a National Biofuels Action Plan to stimulate development of the biofuels industry.
In a press conference announcing the plan, Secretary Bodman explained the end goal, saying the plan should help produce biofuels “…in a cost-effective, environmentally responsible way that utilizes a science-based approach to ensure the next generation of biofuels which will be made primarily from feedstocks -- and they will be made primarily outside the food supply.”
The plan has seven key action areas, including: sustainability; feedstock production; feedstock logistics; conversion science and technology; distribution infrastructure; blending; and environment, health and safety.
Additionally, Secretary Bodman announced an agreement with POET, LLC to construct and operate a commercial scale biorefinery in Iowa to produce ethanol from corn cobs, fiber, and stover. It is only the second major cellulosic biorefinery construction award.
NCBA supports energy independence and the development of alternative fuels, but does not support subsidies for ethanol produced from corn. We believe that open competition on the free market is—and always has been—the most effective driver of innovation and efficiency. The marketplace should be left to decide winners and losers based solely upon economics, not government intervention in the marketplace via mandates and subsidies. U.S. agriculture can accommodate both food and fuel over time. But arbitrary government intervention in the marketplace only serves to distort market signals in the interim, and these distortions hurt cattlemen.
NCBA Participates in Public Meeting on Sampling Procedures:
On October 14 and 15, 2008, NCBA will participate in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) public hearing on smapling procedures.
The primary purpose of the meeting is to deal with sampling issues associated with raw beef, particularly for E. coli O157:H7 as a first step. FSIS will also expand this meeting format to address other pathogens and species/products in the future. The Agency will also use this public meeting to gather input from all stakeholders on other sampling issues that need to be addressed. For more information, please visit www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/meetings_&_events/index.asp.
USDA to Host Public Meeting on Animal Raising Claims:
USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) will host a public meeting on October 14, 2008 to discuss and review policies on the use of animal raising claims in the labeling of meat and poultry products.
FSIS evaluates animal raising claims by considering information on animal production practices submitted by companies as part of their label approval requests. However, recent events concerning labeling claims related to the use of antibiotics in the raising of poultry have led the Agency to question its ability to verify that labels of meat and poultry products that contain animal raising claims are truthful and not misleading.
Therefore, FSIS and AMS will solicit public input and review its policies on claims related to the use of antibiotics in poultry and on animal raising claims in general.
The meeting will be held from 8:30 a.m. and adjourn at 12:30 p.m. It will be held at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, 480 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. An agenda will be available for review on FSIS' Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/meetings_&_events/index.asp.
EPA Advisory Board Holds Hearings on Nitrogen Emissions:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scientific Advisory Board’s Integrated Nitrogen Committee is holding a hearing on October 20th and 21st on the effects of reactive nitrogen in the environment. The study will make recommendations on nitrogen management, which could potentially impact the regulation of emissions from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs).
For more information, please visit: http://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/SABPRODUCT.NSF/81e39f4c09954fcb85256ead006be86e/c83c30afa4656bea85256ea10047e1e1!OpenDocument
Don't Miss the Award-Winning NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen:
Don’t miss NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen! On the show airing from October 7th through October 12th, we will examine how to identify and treat Bovine Respiratory Disease. Plus, we spend a day in the life of an Oregon rancher. Also, we have a preview of the 2009 NCBA Trade Show in Phoenix, Arizona!
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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