Death Tax Analysis for Producers: NCBA released today an analysis document for cattle producers regarding permanent repeal of the Death Tax. The NCBA analysis can be found online at: hill.beef.org/deathtaxanalysis2005 or www.beefusa.org/DeathTaxAnalysis2005.aspx or by contacting NCBA’s Washington D.C. office. Members of NCBA’s Tax and Credit Committee know that tax legislation can become extremely confusing. NCBA compiled this 9-page analysis to clear up any uncertainty among farmers and ranchers regarding what the future holds for their family operations.

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on permanent repeal legislation in early September after returning from the August recess. As a long-time supporter of full repeal, NCBA continues to urge members of the U.S. Senate to vote in favor of H.R. 8. The new analysis examines details of how various outcomes could affect cattle producers in the long-term, showing that full and permanent repeal is clearly the only alternative which will foster long-term sustainability for cattle operations and ultimately relieve all cattle producers from this hefty taxation at the time of death. Go to www.beefusa.org and send a letter to your Senator about your personal experience with the Death Tax. For general repeal information, check out www.repealthedeathtax.org.

Japanese Trade: The U.S. Department of Agriculture published a proposed rule in the Federal Register titled the "Importation of Whole Cuts of Boneless Beef from Japan." The publication of this proposed rule begins the U.S. rule-making process to fulfill our part of the framework agreement announced October 23, 2004 by U.S. and Japanese officials. NCBA will not support finalization of this proposed rule until Japan has completed their domestic process and accepts beef from the United States.

NCBA will continue our aggressive push for the complete re-opening of all export markets for U.S. beef. At NCBA’s continued urging, re-establishing beef exports has been on the top of the trade agenda at the White House, USDA and Congress. The publication of this rule is just the U.S. government doing their part--taking the steps needed to open borders as promised/expected, and Japan should be doing the same thing at the same time. There is no scientific basis for the continued restrictions on U.S. beef, and Japanese borders should be reopened to U.S. beef once and for all.

Trade Talks Abound: The USDA announced this week that Secretary Johanns will be traveling to Australia and New Zealand from August 17–23. The Secretary will be attending the 6th Quint Ministerial Meeting hosted by Australia. Leaders from the Quint nations- Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan and the United States- are coming together to hammer out details in preparation for the next round of WTO (World Trade Organization) talks scheduled for mid-December in Hong Kong. These nations are key players when it comes to agricultural trade negotiations. The goal is coming to an international agreement in principle regarding agricultural (1) domestic supports, (2) export subsidies, and (3) market access. For the rest of 2005, finding a common ground regarding agricultural trade issues in the WTO will be a top priority for NCBA and we already have plans to attend the WTO ministerial scheduled for December 2005 in Hong Kong. USDA Secretary Johanns says "Trade reform through the WTO Doha negotiations is one of our top priorities and the Quint countries have a historic opportunity to reinvigorate and lead the negotiations," said Johanns. "I look forward to meeting with my counterparts from the Quint countries, visiting New Zealand and promoting new economic opportunities for America's farmers and ranchers."

According to the USDA, Johanns will also hold bilateral meetings with each Quint counterpart on the sidelines of the meeting, including Minister Andy Mitchell of Canada, Minister Peter McGauran of Australia, Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel of the European Union and Minister Mineichi Iwanaga of Japan.

Comments on Food Standards: NCBA sent in comments today to USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) on "Food Standards; General Principles and Food Standards Modernization." NCBA supports the efforts of FSIS and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish general principles for food standards and a process for modernizing them. Food standards should allow for the development of new technologies while continuing to protect consumers. The establishment of general principles will prove important as it sets a foundation for the food industry to propose revisions or eliminations of food standards and to know how the agency will respond.

In general, NCBA supports the draft general principles but commented on a few specific issues for the agency to consider. NCBA comments are found online at: http://hill.beef.org/newview.asp?DocumentID=16307.

Cooperative Conservation: The White House Council on Environmental Quality will be hosting a historic "White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation" in St. Louis, Mo., August 29-31, 2005. NCBA and the Public Lands Council (PLC) will be proudly represented at the event by members John O’Keeffe, Oregon; David Cook, Arizona; Dave Petty, Iowa; Preston Wright, Nevada; Pat Pfeil, Florida and NCBA’s Associate Director of Environmental Issues, Stacey Katseanes. The conference was convened to provide a forum for a diverse group of leaders to exchange information. Participants will identify innovative and effective approaches to promoting cooperative conservation. The creative "Walk a Mile in My Boots" program, an exchange program between ranchers and biologists, will be featured at the event. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, Under Secretary Mark Rey, and Farm Service Agency, Forest Service, and Natural Resources Conservation Service senior officials are among the participants who will discuss strengthening shared governance and citizen stewardship. For more information on the conference agenda, go to www.conservation.ceq.gov.

Conservation Workshops Coming in September: Environmental Stewardship Award Winners in Hookstown, Pennsylvania and Cottonwood, Arizona will be hosting conservation workshops in September. The first workshop is scheduled for September 9th at McElhaney Stock Farm in Hookstown, PA. The full-day workshop will feature guest speakers from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Penn State University Cooperative Extension, NCBA, and more. One seminar will cover the importance of providing quality nutrition and minerals to the herd, another will teach participants "everything you wanted to know about making round bale baleage," and wagon tours will be provided throughout the day to view various conservation projects that have been implemented on the property. The second workshop will be during the 2005 PLC Annual Meeting, set for September 13 – 15, 2005 in Cottonwood, Arizona. Contact Stacey Katseanes skatseanes@beef.org or 202-347-0228 for details.

Livestock Assistance Program (LAP): USDA has announced that the sign-up period for LAP 2003 and 2004 ends Sept. 9, 2005. This program provides payments to livestock producers for grazing losses that occurred if a cattle operation’s grazing lands are in counties declared primary disaster areas. Livestock producers in contiguous counties are not eligible. Payments to producers enrolled in LAP are expected to begin in late summer. Secretary Johanns says these programs have helped thousands of producers recover from the devastating effects of severe weather in counties that have received a Presidential disaster declaration. Eligible producers are encouraged to enroll. NCBA policy supports Farm Service Agency's Livestock Assistance Program and has aggressively pursued adequate funding, including Federal Emergency Management Agency funding, for livestock producers adversely impacted by disaster conditions. NCBA works with the USDA and Congress to ensure that eligibility criteria for all livestock assistance and compensation programs are based on livestock and/or forage production losses and funding distributed on actual county losses. USDA's Web site, http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov/, provides producers with one convenient location for details on new and existing disaster assistance.

USDA Farm Bill Listening Sessions: This week, the final USDA Farm Bill Listening Sessions were held in Wyoming, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Producers across the country were encouraged to participate in discussions about the new Farm Bill. If you missed the listening sessions, you can check out a transcript from the forums, learn more information about the Farm Bill, or submit comments via the USDA Farm Bill Forums website at http://www.usda.gov/farmbill.

BSE Surveillance: To date, USDA’s Enhanced BSE Surveillance Program has tested 439,126 targeted animals at highest risk for BSE and has found only one confirmed case in the United States, evidence that our firewalls are working and the prevalence of this disease in the U.S. is extremely low. Testing 268,500 animals can detect BSE at a rate of 1 in 10 million adult cattle at a 99 percent confidence level.

Congressional Schedule: Congress is out of session for August recess. They are scheduled to return to Washington Tuesday, September 7.

**CCC Publication Schedule: The CCC will be taking a short break in production over the Congressional recess. The next Cattlemen’s Capitol Concerns will be published the week of September 5th, 2005. See you in September!

Media Contact:

Tanya Augustson or Karen Batra at 202-347-0228; taugustson@beef.org or kbatra@beef.org

This publication is funded by cattle producers and other industry supporters through their voluntary membership contributions to NCBA. To join the tens of thousands of cattle producers from across the U.S. in working to preserve our legacy, contact NCBA Member Services at 1-866-BEEF-USA or Membership@beef.org.