Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: July 22, 2004

Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
July 22, 2004
The 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).

Country-of-Origin Labeling:  A market-driven, producer-friendly country-of-origin labeling program is one step closer to reality, thanks to action today by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee.  The Food Promotion Act of 2004 (H.R. 4576), which calls for the implementation of a voluntary country-of-origin labeling program, passed this morning by voice vote.  The legislation, introduced June 15 by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Ranking Minority Member Charles Stenholm (D-TX), has broad bipartisan support along with the backing of 347 food and agriculture groups including cattle ranchers, pork producers, seafood producers and growers and shippers of fruits and vegetables.  The bill now moves to the House for consideration.  Cattle producers should contact their Representatives and urge them to support H.R. 4576.

Animal ID Hearing:  A private-sector animal ID system will best meet the needs of the country’s animal health surveillance initiatives and will better protect producer privacy, according to testimony given by beef industry representatives today.  Before the House Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture, cattle-producer members of NCBA reinforced their commitment to a private sector animal ID system, and expressed concerns about a proposed program controlled primarily by federal government. Many producers are very apprehensive regarding the unknowns associated with implementing USDA’s National Animal Identification System, especially the data privacy issues.  NCBA’s goal is an efficient and effective animal identification program with 48-hour trace-back capability, where producers’ personal privacy and data confidentiality rights are protected. We believe both objectives are equally important.

Trade with Morocco: Exciting news in the international arena for producers, as the U.S. Senate passed the U.S. – Morocco Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (S. 2677) this week by a vote of 85-13.  NCBA would like to applaud members nationwide for their work in getting these votes.  The House is scheduled to vote on their version of the bill (HR 4842) this afternoon. This is a good agreement for the cattle industry as we gain access to a new market we’ve never had before.  Morocco currently has some of the highest tariffs in the world, and many of these will be reduced to zero by the end of the transition period of the agreement.  There is a preference clause that is very beneficial in this agreement which ensures that if Morocco negotiates a better deal with a third party, the U.S. will receive those preferences as well.  The agreement does allow for imports of beef from Morocco, however, the quantity is small and it is not a product that competes against U.S. beef, but complements it. NCBA members continue to contact members of Congress to ask them to support this agreement.

Japanese Trade:  As of today, technical group talks between the U.S. and Japan on BSE and trade issues have concluded. According to the USDA’s Dr. Peter Fernandez, "The two days of discussions provided team members with the opportunity to elaborate points of technical agreement and to develop technical options available to encourage the resumption of beef trade."  The two nations did sign an agreement and distributed a report detailing the latest trade issues to be considered. The USDA says this report will serve as the basis for the discussions between the two governments to establish terms by which trade will resume. A full copy of the report is available at: www.usda.gov/Newsroom/BSEWGiFinal072204.pdf. NCBA continues to remain optimistic with the progress made, and urges for an expedited border reopening process.

Conservation Programs: NCBA sent comments on the Grassland Reserve Program (GRP) to the Natural Resources Conservation Service this week. NCBA was a principle driver behind the creation of the GRP during the last Farm Bill.  A major reason for initiating the program was to keep large grass landscapes intact for working ranches and enhance biodiversity by providing an incentive to keep the land intact and not break it. NCBA is concerned the USDA is moving away from this basic concept in its implementation of the program, and they are implementing the GRP in a way that is not sufficiently respectful of the rights of private landowners.  The comments addressed specific concerns with the interim-final rule, including ownership of easements, "grazing value," and project management issues. NCBA members and D.C. staff met with members of Congress this week to discuss GRP concerns.

Myers Nomination Vote Delayed:  The Senate voted this week to continue debate on the nomination of William Myers to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.  Myers worked for NCBA and the Public Lands Council in the 1990’s.  Senate Democrats, caving to the wishes of environmental extremists, blocked the vote for Myers because of his work experience with cattle, timber and mining groups.  "This is typical election-year mudslinging," says Jeff Eisenberg, NCBA’s director of federal lands and executive director of the Public Lands Council.  "Some are choosing to use Bill’s nomination as another opportunity to attack the Bush Administration.  It is unfortunate that Mr. Myers and his family have to bear the brunt of such nasty politicking."  Following his tenure at NCBA and PLC, Myers worked in private law practice where he represented ranchers in grazing and private property rights issues.  President Bush nominated him to be Solicitor, the top lawyer within the Department of the Interior, where he served in that position until President Bush nominated him to the federal bench. 

ESA Bills Pass Committee: This Wednesday, June 21, the House Resources Committee passed two bills aimed at modernizing the Endangered Species Act (ESA): 
- The Sound Science for ESA Planning Act (H.R. 1662): Introduced by Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), this bill amends the ESA to require the Secretary of the Interior to give greater weight to scientific or commercial data that is empirical or has been field-tested or peer-reviewed when making ESA designations.
- The Critical Habitat Reform Act (H.R. 2933): Introduced by Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), this bill reforms the process for designating critical habitat under the ESA. Reform of the ESA is important to cattlemen because ESA designations place restrictions on how producers can use their private lands in order to protect plants and animals deemed endangered or threatened. This may include restrictions on clearing land, drawing water, or other activities that might only indirectly affect a species. Many of the ESA-related problems encountered by ranchers are the due to agency policies being developed without any participation or input from the landowner or others in the community.

Grey Wolf De-listing:  In related news, U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced July 16 a proposal to de-list the eastern grey wolf from the endangered species list. Three decades after grey wolves were nearly extinct in the lower 48 states, wolves in the Eastern Population Segment, (located in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin) have climbed beyond the population criteria set out in the species' recovery plan. These three states have management plans in place to ensure the species' long-term survival. In a statement from the Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association (MSCA), President and NCBA Director Steve Brake said "We cattlemen in Minnesota and the NCBA see this as major positive step on the path to returning wolf management to local control. De-listing will provide the flexibility needed to ensure future survival of the wolf and restore the ability of cattlemen and state officials to effectively manage the conflicts that inevitably arise when wolves and livestock come into contact."

CARA Hearing:  The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hosted a hearing this Tuesday on S. 2590, the Americans Outdoors Act of 2004 (historically known as the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, or CARA), which would authorize the use of federal funds to buy environmentally sensitive land and fund other conservation programs.  NCBA opposes this legislation because it fails to address several important issues critical to our policies on federal land acquisition, including the creation of a mandatory entitlement program, private property retention/protections, and increased opportunities for private/public land exchanges.

Dry Milk Program:  Cattle ranchers in areas afflicted by continuing drought will be eligible to receive surplus stocks of non-fat dry milk at nominal costs. USDA Secretary announced July 16 the 2004 Nonfat Dry Milk Livestock Feed Assistance Initiative. Dry milk offers a high-quality source of supplemental feed to cattle in areas where pasture and water tables are dry.  Approximately 95 counties in nine states are eligible:  Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. More information is available from your local farm service agency or on USDA’s website at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov.

Export Markets: Mexico was the largest destination for U.S. beef (including variety meat) exports for the first five months of 2004, with exports at 36,262 metric tons (mt), valued at $108.1 million. The European Union was the second largest market (17,863 mt, $12.2 million). Data on these and other export markets, as reported by USMEF, is available online at: http://usmef.org/Statistics2004/export04_05_BVMPlus.pdf. USDA data says that U.S. beef (including variety meat) exports for Jan.- May 2004 totaled only 82,039 metric tons (mt) compared with 504,939 mt in Jan.- May 2003. The value of these exports fell from $1.44 billion to $182.6 million. Re-opening the remainder of our export markets remains a top priority for NCBA. We expect that every effort is being made to reopen them as soon as possible, based upon sound science.

WTO Update: World Trade Organization (WTO) talks continued in Geneva this week, in an ongoing all out effort to reach an agreement. Ambassador Al Johnson, the Chief Agriculture Negotiator for the U.S., is a critical decision-maker in these talks, working to expand access for America's producers to overseas markets. These multilateral negotiations are the best way for U.S. cattle producers to expand export market access opportunities for U.S. beef and beef products. Johnson has been working with his counterparts on a compromise that would include commitments on domestic supports, export subsidies and market access in agriculture. NCBA will be on the lookout for a new agricultural text outlining new details in the coming days, and a flurry of activity on this issue between now and the end of the month. Drawing on months of negotiations and recent converging positions among the WTO’s 147 member governments, the negotiators will come up with a first draft with the purpose of providing a basis for further negotiation among members. NCBA strongly supports trade initiatives that reduce barriers to access for U.S. beef. Increased market access via tariff reduction is the core mechanism by which U.S. beef producers can better their position in the global marketplace.

ESAP Ranch Tours: NCBA's Associate Director of Environmental Affairs, Megan Tipton is conducting video and photo shoots on this year's seven regional winning ranches of the 2004 Environmental Stewardship Award Program. This week, the team visited the McElhaney family in Hookstown, Pennsylvania, the winner from NCBA’s Region I, which includes 17 mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states. The prestigious annual award program recognizes cattle producers across the nation whose stewardship practices are inventive, cost-effective and contribute to environmental conservation.

ID Listening Sessions:  The next USDA listening session on Animal ID will be held in Pasco, Washington on July 23.  The USDA continues to host public forums to discuss the development, structure and implementation of a national animal ID program. Future sessions scheduled include:  Pasco, Wash. - July 23; Greeley, Colo. - Aug. 10; Billings, Mont. - Aug. 13; Kissimmee, Fla. - Aug. 16; Columbus, Ohio - Aug. 18; Ames, Iowa - Aug. 26; Joplin, Mo. - Aug. 27; Appleton, Wis. - Aug. 30; St. Cloud, Minn. - Aug. 31.  Producers are encouraged to attend.  Details about each session, including the site and time of meeting, will be posted at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/nais/nais_listeningsessions.html.

USDA Surveillance for BSE: USDA continues its BSE surveillance program which began on June 1. APHIS posts the test results on their website at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov.  To date, 19,419 tests have been conducted.

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

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