Energy Bill on Senate Floor: Comprehensive energy policy is being debated on the Senate floor this week. The legislation incorporates previously introduced bills and is now being presented as an amendment to H.R. 6, the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007.

NCBA’s cattle producer-members support our nation’s commitment to developing forms of renewable energy, but NCBA does not support the Senate energy bill in its current form. Currently, H.R. 6 calls for an increase of the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) to 36 billion gallons by 2022 and mandates 15 billion gallons of renewable fuels from feed grain products by 2015. NCBA would support an increase in the cellulosic segment of the RFS, but opposes any increase in the mandates for feedgrain-based ethanol above 7.5 billion gallons. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) requires that at least 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel be blended into motor vehicle fuel sold in the United States by 2012.

Furthermore, NCBA members believe that it’s time to move toward a market-based approach for the production and use of ethanol produced from livestock feedstuffs. With feedgrain-based ethanol established as a robust industry within the marketplace, NCBA does not consider it appropriate for Congress to renew the volumetric ethanol excise tax credit (VEETC) of $0.51/gallon or the ethanol import tariff of $0.54/gallon beyond their current expiration.

The marketplace is most efficient when supply and demand signals are clearly communicated, and NCBA believes that the ethanol industry should be subjected to market forces equivalent to those faced by the U.S. beef industry. If cattle producers are given an opportunity to compete on a level playing field with the ethanol industry for each bushel of corn, the U.S. beef industry can and will remain competitive.

Private Property Rights: Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering the Fiscal Year 2008 Military Construction Appropriations bill, and within the context of this bill comes a fight for cattle producers’ property rights. The U.S. Department of Defense is planning a controversial takeover of hundreds of thousands of acres of Colorado ranching lands to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

Representatives John Salazar (D-Col.) and Marilyn Musgrave (R-Col.) will be offering an amendment to prevent the U.S. Army from using eminent domain to take control of these 418,000 acres of productive ranchland in southeastern Colorado. NCBA STRONGLY supports this amendment.

Japan Beef Trade Improvements: On June 13, Japan announced that after its recent audit tour of U.S. packing plants, it will eliminate the practice of 100 percent re-inspection of U.S. beef going into Japan. Inspectors will now be operating on a sampling-based protocol. USDA Secretary Johanns says the U.S. is "eager to refocus our discussions with Japan on beef trade based on OIE standards."

"Science provides us with clear data upon which international trading standards were built," says Johanns. "All of our trading partners must be mindful of these guidelines and work toward complying with them. We are pressing for clear, aggressive timelines from our trading partners that demonstrate their commitment to internationally-agreed upon OIE standards."

Malaysia Re-Opens to All Beef: On June 13, Malaysia became the first Asian nation fully re-opened to U.S. beef since late December 2003. Malaysia announced that it will resume import of U.S. beef, consistent with World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines, permitting bone-in beef and variety meats from cattle of all ages. USDA Secretary Johanns said "we applaud this decision and look forward to confirming the details with the Malaysian government." This is good news for U.S. cattle producers. Historically, Malaysia was about a $2 million market for US beef. We urge other Asian nations to follow Malaysia’s lead, and finally and fully re-open to all U.S. beef.

Korea Trade Update: South Korea has lifted its temporary quarantine on U.S. beef shipments. South Korea quarantined all U.S. beef arriving in the country June 4 after two shipments mistakenly contained bone-in product, not meant for that market. "Recently, South Korea agreed to resume imports of U.S. boneless beef," said Secretary Johanns, "and we continue to press them to implement import requirements for U.S. beef and beef products consistent with OIE guidelines on BSE."

Nutrition in Farm Bill: Today, June 14, the House Ag Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition, and Forestry marked-up the Nutrition Title of the 2007 Farm Bill. Issues of greatest concern were nutrition topics, including obesity and hunger, children and the elderly. Many hunger programs, such as the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TFAP), use domestic ag commodities to provide food security, and NCBA is interested in cooperating with food aid programs to promote adequate and healthy diets. Beef is an integral part of that balanced diet, providing protein, iron, zinc and B vitamins, particularly necessary for the at-risk populations served by these programs. The subcommittee also debated on how best to address the adjustments needed with the Food Stamp Program (FSP). The Food Stamp Program is the largest expenditure in the Farm Bill totaling about 57 percent of Farm Bill spending. NCBA will continue to monitor action regarding the Nutrition Title.

Farm Bill Letter to Chairman Peterson: NCBA and fellow agricultural producer groups sent a letter to House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) to express appreciation for the subcommittee’s effort in the development of the conservation title of the farm bill, as passed by the Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research subcommittee on May 23, 2007.

As the full House Ag committee considers this measure, we are specifically urging the committee to increase producers’ access to technical service providers (TSPs) to help them undertake certain critical environmental practices and measures. "This could be achieved in part by allowing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use conservation financial assistance funds to contract directly with TSPs when that is the wish of the producer or a group of producers who are eligible to receive those funds," said the letter. "The subcommittee mark did not include this provision, and therefore, we look forward to working with the full committee to address this area of interest."

NCBA, Food Groups Send Letter to Senate Majority Leader: NCBA, along with 14 other food and agriculture groups, sent a letter on June 8 to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) regarding renewable and alternative sources of energy. "We are concerned that the aggressive increase in biofuels mandates contained in the Senate legislation raises fundamental concerns and questions about the impact that an increased federal government mandate for corn-based ethanol will have on the livestock and food industry’s ability to produce competitively available, affordable food."

The letter continued: "The use of cellulosic feedstocks for ethanol production holds great promise. In addition, other means of producing biofuels, such as the co-processing of renewable feedstocks into fuel that is compatible with the existing fuel distribution infrastructure, offer great opportunity. We would submit that focus should be placed on advancing these longer term solutions."

Grazing Regulations Case: Livestock producers and members of the Public Lands Council (PLC) are disappointed with the district court ruling issued Friday, June 8 on the legality of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) revisions to nationwide grazing regulations. Idaho Judge B. Lynn Winmill banned implementation of the grazing regulations. This is a step backwards for the administration of grazing on public lands. The grazing regulations represent an effort by the BLM and Bush Administration to balance the interests of resource protection and the people who make a living on the land.

"With BLM managers as our partners, we develop grazing plans and manage forage and water resources on public lands," says Idaho rancher and Public Lands Council president G. David Nelson. "Often, ranchers are the only human presence on the vast rangelands of Idaho and others across the West. It is up to us to steward America’s public lands. Yet, environmental groups, such as those in this lawsuit, aim to attack our industry and our way of life. These efforts most often result only in minimized management capacity of federal agencies to the detriment of our public lands." The PLC is reviewing Judge Winmill's ruling and considering future action. If there is a realistic belief that a court battle can be won, we will continue the fight.

CAFO Rule Comments: On June 11, NCBA submitted comments to the EPA on proposed revised compliance dates under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES") permit regulations and Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Standards for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The proposal and request for comments was published in the Federal Register on May 10, 2007. EPA is now proposing February 27, 2009 as the latest date for newly defined CAFOs to seek permit coverage and for permitted CAFOs to develop and implement an NMP. In our comments, NCBA says:

"While the proposed deadline extension to February 27, 2009 appears to be reasonable, the unfortunate reality is that this date is inadequate and appears to be arbitrary…CAFO owners and operators need a minimum of two years after EPA approval of an individual CAFO’s NPDES permit, including its nutrient management plan, to complete the permitting process. Such approval can only occur after states and permitting authorities have acted to conform to the final rule, an exercise that can take anywhere from one to two years after the rule is promulgated. NCBA urges the EPA to consider carefully our comments and provide CAFO owners and operators with a period of two years after EPA approval of an individual permit for compliance."

If you have information on available pasture land, hay availability or buyers interested in high-quality genetics, please contact one of the following Southeast state cattlemen's association executives: Dr. Billy Powell (Alabama), (334) 265-1867 or bpowell@bamabeef.org; Jim Collins (Georgia), (478) 474-1815 or jim@gabeef.org; Luke West (Tennessee), (615) 896-2333 or luke@tncattle.org; Sammy Blossom (Mississippi), (601) 354-8951 or missca1@bellsouth.net; Jim Handley (Florida), (407) 846-4557 or FBCFCAJimHandley@aol.com; Bob Felknor (Louisiana), (225) 343-3491 or bfelknor@labeef.org; Peter Wilkins (South Carolina), (803) 734-9806 or scca@sccattle.org; Bundy Plyler (North Carolina), (919) 552-9111 or bundy@nccattle.com.

U.S. Beef Exports on the Rise: The official April trade data has been released, and U.S. beef exports continue gain momentum. Through the first four months of 2007, the U.S. has exported $675 million in beef and beef variety meats compared to $581 million during Jan-April 2006, that’s a 16 percent increase!

Mexico continues to lead the way with $366 million in beef export trade through April compared to $356 million during the same period in 2006. Exports to Canada continue to grow at $129 million versus $103 million in 2006, and Japan is finally starting to register on the radar screen at $53 million versus $10 million.

Taiwan remains about even with $30 million versus $29 million in 2006, Egypt down slightly at $24 million versus $28 million and also the EU at $8 million versus $12 million last year. Countries where market access for U.S. beef has improved include Hong Kong at $11 million in trade so far this year compared to only $3 million last year, the UAE at $4.2 million versus $2.3 million, Vietnam at $3.5 million versus $1.6 million and Central America at $3.4 million versus $1.9 million.

USDA's weekly export sales report indicates that as of June 7, the U.S. has sold but not yet shipped 14,800 metric tons of beef to Korea worth an NCBA estimated $50-70 million with shipments of 600 metric tons.

Rep. Lucas at NCBA Offices: NCBA hosted a meeting on Wednesday, June 13 with Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.). Rep. Lucas is serving his seventh full term as a Member of Congress, representing Oklahoma's Third Congressional District. He serves on the Agriculture, Financial Services, and Science and Technology Committees. Lucas serves as ranking member of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research. Congressman Lucas is a fifth generation Oklahoman whose family has lived and farmed in Oklahoma for more than 100 years. He votes in Washington during the week, and on the weekend he operates a farm and cattle ranch in Roger Mills County with his wife, Lynda.

NCBA Preparing for Cattle Industry Summer Conference: Pre-registration is now open for the 2007 Cattle Industry Summer Conference, which will be held July 16-20 in Denver. The event is co-sponsored by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, American National CattleWomen, Inc. (ANCW), and Cattle-Fax.

NCBA’s popular Issue Forums will take place on Wednesday, July 18. This year, one Issue Forum will be devoted entirely to policy issues. NCBA policy committee meetings are scheduled for Thursday, July 19. These sessions provide an update on the progress of member-driven NCBA policies that were adopted at the Cattle Industry Annual Convention in February.

Entertainment options for those attending the Summer Conference include a Western Swing event sponsored by Dow AgroSciences and USDA-NRCS. A billiards tournament will also be held in support of the NCBA-PAC, and ANCW will be holding its annual silent auction.

Don't Miss NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen: Tune into NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen on RFD-TV at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern time) this Saturday as the Cattle Learning Center talks about management of nuisance flies, we'll take a look at the booming ethanol industry, and also have a feature interview with current NCBA President and North Carolina cattle producer John Queen.

On next week’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen episode, beginning Tuesday, June 19th, hear from animal health experts and Fort Dodge officials who discuss de-worming, horse health and reproduction management. Also, check out or special feature on a young female rancher from Arizona.

Media Contact:
Tanya A. Camarra or Karen Batra at 202-347-0228, tacamarra@beef.org or kbatra@beef.org.