Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: January 29, 2004

Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns

January 29, 2004

The CCC is a weekly email report from Washington D.C. giving an up-to-date summary of top policy initiatives concerning the cattle industry; direct from National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) D.C. headquarters. Please feel free to reprint in full.

Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show: 

This week, NCBA is in Phoenix, Arizona at the 2004 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show.  Full coverage of Convention will appear in next week’s CCC.

The 2004 Convention in Phoenix brings thousands of cattle producers and cattle industry representatives from across the globe together to discuss top priorities for 2004.  All day today, participants are crowding the halls of the convention center, participating in various interactive issue forums, regional caucus meetings, and discussions with top government officials and industry leaders. The 'hot topics' this year deal predominantly with impacts of the recent U.S. discovery of an isolated case of BSE in an imported Canadian cow.

This morning, USDA Secretary Anne Veneman greeted the crowd of thousands, commending the NCBA for its immediate actions in response to this discovery, and noted "confidence of U.S. consumers in our beef supply remains strong." She stressed that the re-opening of our export markets continues to be a top priority, while ongoing negotiations with international leaders continue each day. Veneman announced that the President’s FY 2005 budget would propose a $47 million increase in funding for animal disease prevention activities. The increase would be used to develop a national Animal ID system, surveillance, BSE monitoring, research and development of testing, rapid response teams, and more. In addition, Veneman stated she would work for a transfer of emergency funds to support new efforts in the current fiscal year.

Top Convention Highlights from Today…

BSE Issues Forum: Today’s BSE Issues Forum gave thousands of listeners an up-to-minute overview of the BSE situation and industry climate. Cattle-Fax examined the economic impact of BSE, while McDonald’s shared insight about consumer confidence and beef sales. During the McDonald’s presentation, VP of Communications Mike Donohue unveiled a new advertising campaign celebrating the lives and workmanship of cattle operations across the nation, and announced the debut of McDonalds new Fiesta Salad topped with beef, coming to restaurants in May. Giving a regulatory overview, Dr. Ron DeHaven, APHIS Deputy Administrator, Dr. Garry McKee, FSIS Administrator, and Dr. Steve Sundlof, FDA Director for Veterinary Medicine discussed the BSE investigation and new regulatory and legislative proposals that are in place or being considered. In discussions over suggested testing procedures, DeHaven re-iterated the utter importance of reacting in a science-based manner, and not simply basing decisions on public perception. "Testing all cattle entering our food supply for BSE makes about as much sense as testing every man, woman, and child for prostate cancer when they go to the doctor!"   McKee commented, "With NCBA taking the lead role, and protecting the livestock industry, consumer confidence was maintained." 

Animal ID: One of the hottest topics at this week’s convention brought hoards of producers to the Animal ID Forum today. Leaders involved in the development of the U.S. Animal ID plan called for cattle producers across the country to make a plea to their local, state, and national government officials for funding of this important initiative. The forums gave an update on the current status of the U.S. Animal Identification Plan (USAIP), updating members on the role NCBA is playing in representing the U.S. beef industry as this initiative reaches the initial phase of implementation. Producers swarmed the microphone with a stream of questions about the logistics of implementing of a national system. NCBA members agreed that although some producers were already in the midst of animal identification, many producers across the country must be educated on possible pilot programs. NCBA is working with other industry groups to develop a workable, cost effective and confidential national ID system as soon as possible.

International Trade:  Producers heard one-on-one from NCBA’s Chief Economist Gregg Doud and the U.S. Meat Export Federation on the current market situation across the globe for U.S. beef exports. While some export markets such as Poland and Canada remain open to U.S. product, complex negotiations are ongoing with our former top export markets. NCBA leaders, Canadian cattlemen, and Mexican cattlemen continue to conduct meetings to develop reasonable protocols for the North American markets. Doud announced that after recent Washington D.C. meetings at NCBA offices between the three national leaders, they signed an agreement to work towards a harmonization of industry standards within North America. This harmonization document is now being presented to our respective governing bodies. (Photos are available of the signing of this document; contact taugustson@beef.org) In today’s forum, Doud also discussed rough financial estimates of the economic impact of the new USDA regulation sand policies on our domestic and export markets. He noted that basic textbook economics says the majority of such costs will rest on the shoulders of producers.

BLM Hearing on Grazing:  Wednesday evening, the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hosted public hearing here in Phoenix to hear comments on proposed changes to grazing regulations. This was one of six meetings to be held across the country. NCBA and the Public Lands Council are actively involved with this issue to assure the needs of producers are addressed. The BLM is interested in hearing from interested parties to see how grazing regulations will really affect them. To participate, and have your voice heard on this issue, submit your comments to the BLM on the proposed grazing regulation at http://hill.beef.org/comments.asp

Environmental Awards: The official National Winners of the 13th Annual Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) will be unveiled later tonight at a reception here in Phoenix. The National winner is selected from the seven regional winners announced last summer, which will also be honored at tonight’s reception. Established in 1991 by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, LLC, the program provides an opportunity for the beef industry to showcase the stewardship and business practices that exist together on progressive farms and ranches. A committee of representatives from university faculty, federal and state government agencies, and conservation and environmental organizations select the regional and national recipients of this top U.S. cattle industry environmental award.

Policy Committee Meetings: On Friday, NCBA members will be holding a vast array of committee meetings where producers have the opportunity to get actively involved in current affairs affecting their priorities issues. The producers will have one-on-one discussions and present resolutions to address new NCBA priorities for 2004, while top speakers and officials will be presenting. The NCBA Property Rights and Environmental Management Committee will discuss latest concerns and efforts on clean air, endangered species, the AFO/CAFO rule, and farm bill program implementation. NCBA’s Agriculture Policy Committee will discuss the implementation of programs in the 2002 Farm Bill, among other issues. NCBA Live Cattle Marketing Committee will discuss reauthorization of the Mandatory Price Reporting law, country-of-origin labeling, and the outlook for cattle markets. The NCBA Federal Lands committee will hear presentations on BLM monitoring, permit buyouts and more. NCBA’s Joint International Markets Committee will meet to work on recent international market issues, including BSE export barriers and country-of-origin labeling issues. NCBA’s Cattle Health and Well-Being Committee will discuss BSE, TB and Brucellosis eradication, while the NCBA Tax and Credit Committee members will review a number of key policies that will set the pace for NCBA’s involvement in tax-related issues currently working in the 108th Congress.

Meanwhile, Back in Washington…

Senate Ag Committee Hearing on BSE: On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture hosted a public hearing to review the USDA's response to the December 23rd BSE situation. Government officials and animal disease experts testified in regards to impact on food safety, livestock marketing, and international trade. USDA Secretary Ann Veneman concluded "…Our investigation has made a lot of headway in the past five weeks. We have further enhanced our protection systems. Our food supply and the public health remain protected, and consumer confidence in the beef supply has been maintained. We are working diligently to restore our export markets. I am very proud of the accomplishments of our very dedicated USDA team. As our efforts proceed, we will continue to provide complete and timely updates to the public."

New FDA/BSE Regulations: This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced several new measures designed to further strengthen the animal feed rule and help assure that BSE could not spread in U.S. cattle. These changes add another layer of protection to a system the Harvard University Center for Risk Analysis recognized in 2001 and again in 2003 as being robust against the spread of BSE. NCBA supports increasing feed and rendering mill inspections because, as cattle producers, we expect full compliance with the feed ban. The FDA feed ban, which began in 1997, has more than 99 percent compliance, one of the highest levels of compliance of all the FDA regulations. NCBA supports the FDA requirement of dedicated lines in feed mills and we have for many years encouraged the feed industry to employ that process to reduce the risk of cross contamination. While the use of plate waste as a feed ingredient is not a common practice in the beef industry, we support the FDA’s interim rule on this practice. The FDA interim final rule to ban the use of poultry litter as a feed ingredient for ruminant animals is in line with NCBA policy discouraging the use of poultry litter in cattle feed.

While current research has not found presence of the BSE agent in bovine blood, and the World Animal Health Organization does not cite blood products as a risk, NCBA acknowledges the FDA’s action in banning mammalian blood products in ruminant feed is a step to provide additional consumer reassurance that U.S. beef remains the safest in the world. Most important, it cannot be overemphasized that the BSE agent is not found in steaks, roasts and ground beef. We will fully evaluate these interim final rules and will comment accordingly.

Costa Rican Trade:  This week, trade officials have come to an agreement, making Costa Rica a formal participant in the U.S.-Central American Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This decision was reached after weeks of negotiations between U.S. and Costa Rican representatives. The FTA would be a fine opportunity to expand our export markets for U.S. beef. With this agreement, we will have immediate duty-free access for high quality beef. Costa Rica boasts a strong tourist and travel industry, and this is a key market for our U.S. beef exports. NCBA continues to follow the progression of these talks, working with Central American cattlemen associations and government officials. The new agreement, negotiated by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), offers new market opportunities for U.S. agriculture. We look forward to Congress making this deal official.

Australian Free Trade Agreement: NCBA learned late last week that sugar may be exempted from the Australian Free Trade Agreement.  In discussions late last week, NCBA advised the White House against that the decision, which was in opposition to long-standing policy dictating that no agricultural commodity will be exempted from the U.S.-Central America and U.S.-Australia FTA negotiations.  NCBA warns the Administration that this action sets an extremely dangerous precedent for future trade negotiations.

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.

For more information, please visit our web site at hill.beef.org.