Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns Archive
Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
January 3, 2008
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’d like to include NCBA’s logo, contact us at 202-347-0228.
Congressional Schedule: Both houses of Congress are still out on recess for the holidays. The House of Representatives is scheduled to reconvene on January 15th. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on January 22nd.
Farm Bill Update: Congressional staff are working on the Farm Bill, which will now head to conference, but conferees have yet to be named. For cattlemen, NCBA’s top focus will be to remove language from the Senate version of the bill which bans packer ownership of cattle.
“NCBA policy supports a competitive, free-enterprise market,” says Truitt. “It is unfortunate that the Senate chose to include legislative language that puts the government – not cattlemen – in charge of how cattle are marketed. This provision must be removed so that the heavy hand of government does not interfere with a cattle producer’s ability to provide the beef products that consumers want.”
A Statement of Administration Policy released by the White House says the Administration also strongly opposes the prohibition on packer ownership and the provision regulating production contracts, “because they would unduly interfere with the freedom to contract, require the divestiture of assets by entities that have operated lawfully, limit opportunities for farmers and ranchers to participate in marketing alliances, and increase prices for American consumers.”
A final agreement on the Farm Bill should be reached by March 15, 2008, when the extension of the 2002 bill expires.
EPA Moving Forward on CERCLA/EPCRA Reporting Exemption: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its long-awaited proposed rule change to exempt air releases related to animal agriculture from emergency release reporting requirements under CERCLA and EPCRA. The proposal was published in the December 28, 2007 Federal Register, and comments are due by March 27, 2008.
Specifically, EPA is proposing that reporting requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) not be applied to air releases of defined substances – primarily ammonia and hydrogen sulfide – from animal waste at farms. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are both byproducts of the breakdowns of animal wastes.
"This is very good news for cattle operations,” says NCBA’s Chief Environmental Counsel Tamara Thies. “We have been working on this for a long time, and cattle producers are very pleased EPA has agreed with our position on this rule. Without this rulemaking, cattle operations would be required to regularly monitor and report air emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide to the EPA. The EPA recognizes the fact that there will never be a situation that requires emergency response as a result of these emissions from manure and has, therefore, determined that monitoring and reporting are not necessary. This is a correct and welcomed decision by the EPA."
The EPA says the proposed change would enable response authorities “to better focus their attention on hazardous substance releases that require emergency response while reducing reporting burdens on America’s farms.”
Release notifications must still be made to emergency response authorities when hazardous substances are released to the air from sources other than animal waste (e.g., ammonia tanks), as well as releases of hazardous substances to soil and water.
More information on the proposed rule is posted at: http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/content/epcra/cercla_dec07.htm
Disaster Assistance Update: USDA has begun processing about $1 billion in payments under the Crop Disaster Program, Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) and Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). The payments were authorized under the "U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007" signed into law on May 25, 2007. The final rule became effective December 19th.
Sign-up for these programs is ongoing. The programs provide payments to eligible agricultural producers who suffered crop, livestock and feed losses in 2005, 2006, or 2007. Producers must choose one year for which to receive payments.
LCP compensates livestock producers for feed losses resulting from natural disasters such as drought. LIP compensates livestock producers for livestock losses caused by natural disasters. Producers who suffered losses caused by blizzards that started in 2006 and continued into 2007 are also eligible for both.
Farmers and ranchers can apply to receive benefits for these and other disaster programs by visiting their local FSA office. Find more information at: http://disaster.fsa.usda.gov.
Missouri Governor's Conference: NCBA’s Vice President of Government Affairs Jay Truitt will be traveling to St. Louis this weekend for the Missouri Governor's Conference on Agriculture, January 6-7, 2008. Jay will speak as part of a livestock panel discussion focusing on opportunities to enhance marketing and production in animal agriculture. More information is posted at http://www.mda.mo.gov/govconf.htm.
Don’t Miss the 3rd Annual NCBA-PAC/PEF All-Breed Bull and Horse Auction! Held in conjunction with the 2008 Cattle Industry Convention & Trade Show, the NCBA-PAC/PEF All-Breed Bull and Horse Auction offers convention attendees a chance to purchase some of the best genetics and seed stock in the nation, and support NCBA-PAC at the same time!
The auction is scheduled for 6:30 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2008, at Booth 101 in the trade show at the Reno Sparks Convention Center.
Thank you to those outstanding operations that have contributed to this exciting event so far, including:
- Bieber Red Angus Ranch - Leola, South Dakota
- Coldwater Cattle Company of Holly Springs, Mississippi
- Dalebanks Angus Ranch - Eureka, Kansas
- Fink Beef Genetics - Randolph, Kansas
- Gardiner Angus Ranch - Ashland, Kansas
- Genex Cooperative - Shawano, Wisconsin
- Leland Red Angus Ranch - Sidney, Montana
- Marshall Cattle Company - Burlington, Colorado
- One Penny Ranch - Foley, Minnesota
- Ridgefield Farm, LLC of Dahlonega, Georgia
- Seven L Ranch - Devers, Texas
- Steele Land and Livestock - Anita, Iowa
- Thomas Angus Ranch of Baker City, Oregon
- Wulf Limousin Farms - Morris, Minnesota
- Yon Family Farms - Ridge Spring, South Carolina
Donators receive national marketing for their operation through the National Cattlemen's Magazine, pre- and post-convention exposure to all NCBA members in a sale catalog distributed at convention, their name displayed prominently at convention events, a ribbon badge signifying their donation, and also VIP passes to the NCBA-PAC event featuring Tracy Lawrence on Friday evening!
It isn't too late to join this exceptional group! Contribute to the 3rd Annual NCBA-PAC/PEF All-Breed Bull and Horse Auction by contacting Lindsay Bowman at 202-347-0228 or lbowman@beef.org by January 4, 2008!
2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention, February 6-9!: The 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show will be held February 6-9 in Reno, Nevada. The meeting will feature joint and individual meetings by NCBA, Cattlemen's Beef Promotion & Research Board, American National CattleWomen, Inc., Cattle-Fax and the National Cattlemen's Foundation.
This is the time of year when NCBA’s producer-members gather to discuss our industry’s priority issues at issue forums and committee meetings. On February 9th, members will vote on policy for the coming year at NCBA’s Board of Directors Meeting.
Looking for a great way to get top-notch education? Register for the 2008 Cattlemen’s College entitled, “Charting your Course.” With three different tracks including Marketing, Resources Management and Production, there’s sure to be a session fit for you and your operation’s needs.
The pre-registration deadline is approaching. Don’t miss this most important meeting for the cattle industry. Register by January 11th to receive significant discounts off of the onsite registration fees. For more information and for a complete schedule of events visit our website at www.beefusa.org.
NCBA to Hold 2nd Annual Career Fair at 2008 Annual Convention & Tradeshow: After last year’s success of the first-ever career fair, NCBA is proud to host the event again at this year’s convention in Reno.
The Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show is one of our largest cattle industry events, creating an opportunity for the industry to develop recruiting partnerships, and we’re expecting a number of college students and future business leaders to attend! Employers of all types with open positions are encouraged to participate. Whether you want to target a handful of college students or you want to conduct a nationwide search, the 2008 Career Fair will simplify your recruiting efforts and help you find and hire the right people—fast!
NCBA’s Human Resources Department and AgCareers will host the Career Fair on Thursday, February 7th, 11:00am - 2:00pm, in the Trade Show Lounge. Employers interested in participating simply need to send a representative to staff a FREE table! If you are interested in being a part of this unique opportunity, please contact Erica Miller at 202-347-0228 or emiller@beef.org for more details.
Don't Miss NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen: On this week’s edition of NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen airing January 1-5, we head to Pennsylvania to learn more about grassland and rangeland management and how good management plays an important role in grazing beef cattle for the 21st century.
On next week’s episode airing January 8-12, we look back at some of our favorite stories from our first season on the air. We’ll return to Nashville and the 2007 Cattle Industry Annual Convention where we follow a first time attendee. Then, join us as we travel cross country with the 2007 class of the Young Cattlemen’s Conference. We’ll also remember cattle industry legend W.D. Farr and learn more about a scholarship offered in his honor. Finally, we visit the state of Maine to learn more about the IRM Red Books and how they’re produced (The 2008 IRM Red Books are available now. To order yours, call 1-800-525-3085).
NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen on RFD-TV provides weekly news and features for cattle producers across the country. The show airs Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. and is rebroadcast Wednesdays at 4:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Saturdays at 10 a.m. All times are Eastern. Make sure YOU tune into NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen on channel RFD-TV. For more information or to check out past episodes, visit www.cattlementocattlemen.org.
Media Contact: Karen Batra at 202-347-0228 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.