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).

Cattlemen Step-Up Outreach Efforts in Final Recess Week:  NCBA reminds cattle producers that many members of Congress are at home for just a few more days before returning to Washington for the fall congressional session.  NCBA urges its members to reach out locally to their Senators and Representatives on key issues such as disaster assistance, tax relief, horse management, environmental regulations and other issues affecting your business.  NCBA’s Manager of Grassroots Communications, Jenni Beck, suggests contacting the local offices of your congressional representatives to see what events they may be attending in your area.  Seek them out at these events and town hall meetings, and share with them your ideas on how they can help cattlemen to be more successful.  For more information on priority issues or for tips on how to contact Congress, visit http://capwiz.com/beefusa.

NCBA Fights Absurdity of Proposed Dust Regulations:  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering revisions to its National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) under the Clean Air Act.  In its proposed rule, EPA exempted dust generated by agricultural operations, including cattle operations.  But EPA is now considering abandoning this proposed exclusion.  If EPA decides to regulate agricultural dust (called coarse particulate matter) then cattle producers will be forced to comply with regulations that will govern dust produced by tilling soil, planting and harvesting crops, driving on dirt roads, moving cattle in feedlots, spreading nutrients on fields, storing of outside bulk materials and mixing feed. 

It is critical that producers engage all members of Congress and agency officials on this issue, and urge them to oppose EPA's potential regulation of agricultural dust.  Go to http://capwiz.com/beefusa to send a letter on this issue.

Cattle Producers Finding Support on Superfund Issue:  Cattlemen are continuing to urge support for a pair of bills in Congress which will clarify that manure should not be regulated under Superfund laws.  Superfund laws were created in the 1980s to provide for clean-up of industrial toxic waste sites and chemical spills.  Opponents of animal agriculture want to apply Superfund laws to livestock operations because of manure emissions. 

Congress has responded to the concerns of livestock producers and is moving bills in both the House and Senate to clarify that Congress never intended for livestock manure to be regulated under Superfund laws.  In the Senate, S. 3681 has 27 co-sponsors. In the House, H.R. 4341 currently has 177 co-sponsors.  Visit http://capwiz.com/beefusa to see a full list of co-sponsors.  If your Senator or Representative has not yet signed on as a supporter, send a message to them asking them to sign on, or seek them out at home over August recess and talk to them about the importance of this issue! 

Ag and Horse Groups Urge Congress to Vote No on Horse Bill:  Over 180 national and state organizations including the American Quarter Horse Association, the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and NCBA are urging their members to contact their member of Congress on legislation that would ban the processing of horses for human consumption.  H.R. 503 currently has 203 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, and a vote is scheduled for September 7, as the first item of business when the House returns from its August recess. 

Passage of this bill could set a dangerous precedent for the banning other meats for reasons other than science, safety, or public health.  In addition, removing processing as a management option actually poses a greater risk to horse welfare.  “As many as 90,000 horses need care, food and shelter,” said Texas cattleman and NCBA member Paxton Ramsey who recently testified before Congress on the issue.  “H.R. 503 fails to address the problems of costs for care, the unintended mistreatment of these animals in non-regulated rescue facilities, and the environmental concerns of disposing of carcasses.”  Visit http://capwiz.com/beefusa to learn how you can participate in the effort to defeat H.R. 503. 

Cattlemen Applaud Choice of Arlen Lancaster as NRCS Chief: Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced August 23 the selection of Arlen Lancaster as Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).  NCBA says cattlemen have a friend in Lancaster, having worked with him in his various roles on Capitol Hill and at USDA.  Lancaster has served as deputy assistant secretary of congressional relations at USDA since April 2005.  In addition, he worked in various senior staff positions in Congress including senior policy advisory for Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and staff director for the Senate Subcommittee on Forestry Conservation and Rural Revitalization where he played a key role in crafting the conservation title of the 2002 Farm Bill. Johanns said, “I’m very confident that our nation’s farmers and ranchers will have a strong advocate in him for improving the quality of our natural resources and conserving our land.” Lancaster succeeds Bruce Knight at NRCS, who was recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate as under secretary of agriculture for marketing and regulatory programs.

U.S. Trade Officials Meeting in Southeast Asia:  U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab was in Singapore this week meeting with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss trade issues and developments since the 2004 U.S.–Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Ambassador Schwab then traveled to Malaysia to meet with officials to discuss the United States-Malaysia FTA negotiations. The United States and Malaysia are preparing for a third round of negotiations in Malaysia during the week of September 18.

Also while in Malaysia, the U.S. is participating in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers meeting, discussing ways to get the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round negotiations back on track. Member countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. ASEAN nations are now the fourth largest trading partner of the United States, with two-way trade totaling about $150 billion last year.  "ASEAN is a one of the most rapidly growing and dynamic regions in the world and a commercially and strategically significant U.S. partner. We view intensifying relations with Southeast Asia as a top priority." said Schwab.

Ambassador Schwab will then be heading to China to meet with Commerce Minister Bo Xilai to discuss China’s role in helping to restart the Doha Round negotiations and to urge progress from China on a number of issues, including a full re-opening of their borders for U.S. beef and beef products.

South Korean Trade Update:  A South Korean team of inspectors is expected to arrive in the United States today for a tour of U.S. processing facilities.  The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is now saying the government of South Korea will decide whether to lift its ban on U.S. beef in early October.  This inspection tour is scheduled to begin August 24 and be completed by September 3.

Canada Confirms its 8th BSE Case:  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed August 23 that a mature beef cow from Alberta tested positive for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE).  No part of the animal’s carcass entered the human food or animal feed systems.  CFIA say they estimate the animal’s age was between eight and ten years old and that its exposure to the BSE agent likely occurred either before the feed ban’s introduction or during its early implementation. CFIA is conducting a complete epidemiological review of this case and will make the results public at the investigation’s conclusion.

Animal ID:  The board of directors of the United States Animal Identification Organization, Inc. (USAIO) announced this week completion of agreements with leading manufacturers of ISO RFID devices in the United States: Allflex USA of Dallas, Texas; Destron Fearing (Digital Angel) of Minneapolis, Minn.; and Y-Tex Corporation of Cody, Wyo.  USAIO Chairman Charles Miller says the USAIO anticipates more announcements of strategic partnerships with other industry participants in the near future.  The USAIO database has completed beta testing and is now being ramped up in the first of three implementation phases.

Cooperative Conservation Listening Sessions Scheduled:  The Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Commerce, the EPA, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality are hosting listening sessions across the country to hear from stakeholders on cooperative conservation and environmental partnerships.  Specifically, officials want to know how the government can better work with local communities and landowners to protect the environment and promote conservation.  In a joint statement, the agencies said they want to better respect the interests of people with ownership in land, water, and other natural resources. 

NCBA and the Public Lands Council (PLC) encourage rancher-members to seek out a session in your area and participate in these discussions.  The following priorities can be stressed at these sessions on behalf of NCBA and PLC:

1. Ask the Department of Interior to issue updated Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations as soon as possible.
2. Request formal rulemaking by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to define jurisdiction of isolated waters.
3. Ask the administration to work with ranchers to improve administration of grazing on public lands in the West.

NCBA and PLC have drafted detailed talking points for use at these sessions.  These are posted on our website at www.beefusa.org (the Cooperative Conservation page is located under “Governmental Affairs” > “Natural Resources and the Environment”) or contact Maggie Beal at NCBA (mbeal@beef.org or 202-347-0228) with any questions you may have on the listening sessions or talking points.

Cooperative Conservation Listening Sessions Are Scheduled For:

• Muncie, Ind. - August 26, 10:00am
• Fairbanks, Alaska - August 28, 10:00am
• Jefferson City, Mo. - August 29, 1:00pm
• Enid, Okla. - August 30, 1:00pm
• Redding, Calif. - September 13, 9:00am
• Colorado Springs, Colo. - September 15, 9:00am
• Brewer, Maine - September 20, 4:00pm
• Brunswick, Ga. - September 21, 1:00pm
• Colton, Calif. - September 28, 10:00am

Clean Water Act CAFO Comment Deadline Approaching: NCBA affiliates and producer-members are encouraged to submit comments before next week’s deadline (August 29) on the EPA's Clean Water Act (CWA) Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Rule. EPA has requested comments both on its proposed rule and draft Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) template that were originally published in the Federal Register June 30, 2006.  NCBA is encouraging producers to submit the two sets of comments available at: http://hill.beef.org/pdfs/CWACAFORuleCommentsAffiliates0806.doc and/or http://hill.beef.org/pdfs/CWACAFOTemplateCommentsAffiliates806.doc.

In addition, the following letter is also available online: http://hill.beef.org/pdfs/CWACAFORuleCommentsProducer.doc.

USDA Announces 2006, 2007 Forecasts for Ag Exports:  USDA’s Economic Research Service, Foreign Agricultural Service and the World Agricultural Outlook Board have released their quarterly agricultural trade forecast for fiscal years 2006 and 2007. In summary, USDA says exports are expected to reach a record $68 billion in fiscal 2006, eclipsing the old record of $62.5 billion set in fiscal year 2005.  For fiscal year 2007, USDA forecasts U.S. agricultural exports will reach a record of $72 billion, $4 billion above this year. 

NCBA hopes that beef exports will account for part of that expansion as we work to fully normalize beef trade with the 20 countries that are still closed to our exports.  USDA says beef exports are forecast to rise largely due to the resumption of sales to Japan. 

USDA also points out that trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have had a huge impact on U.S. agricultural exports. In 2005, U.S. agricultural exports to both Canada and Mexico totaled $19.6 billion. They are forecast to reach $23.7 billion by 2007, accounting for one-third of all U.S. agricultural exports.  The summary and full report of USDA's Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Exports may be accessed from the ERS website at http://www.ers.usda.gov or the FAS website at http://www.fas.usda.gov. 

U.S. BSE Surveillance:  USDA’s Enhanced BSE Surveillance Program continues to test targeted animals identified as most likely to have the disease.  Since June 1, 2004, the program has tested 785,638 cattle and has found only two confirmed cases, evidence that our safeguards are working and the prevalence of BSE in the United States 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. 

CCC on Retreat:  NCBA’s Cattlemen’s Capitol Concerns (CCC) newsletter will not publish next week, Thursday, August 31, because our editorial staff will be on a planning retreat in Colorado.  See our next issue of CCC on September 7. 

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