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).

NCBA Executive Committee Supports Japan Sanctions:  With frustrations growing among U.S. cattlemen over the continued ban on U.S. beef in Japan, NCBA’s Executive Committee voted June 14 to support retaliatory measures against Japan if trade is not resumed expeditiously. 

Key leaders in Congress have been increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress by the Japanese to resolve the beef trade issue, and many have introduced varying forms of sanctions legislation or intend to in the near future.  NCBA’s Executive Committee voted unanimously to work for:

• passage of legislation to instruct the Administration to institute ag and non-ag sanctions on Japan if trade is not resumed, and
• passage of S. 3364, introduced by Senator Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), which bans importation of Japanese beef into the U.S. until Japan opens its borders to U.S. beef.

NCBA President and Missouri cattleman Mike John says NCBA has worked to resolve these trade issues with Japan through negotiations based on sound scientific principles. But repeated delays by Japan have forced cattlemen to support more aggressive action.  “All we are asking for is fair treatment by Japan based on internationally accepted guidelines,” John said. “The last thing we want is a trade war, but at some point you just have to say, ‘enough is enough.’”

In related news, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is scheduled to visit the United States for meetings with President Bush during the last week in June. 

CRP Acreage Released in Kansas Due to Drought: As drought conditions worsen in many areas of the country, the USDA is releasing additional Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage for emergency grazing. The USDA released CRP lands in 31 Kansas counties due to serious, long-term drought conditions in these areas. Additionally, various counties in Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico have already released CRP lands, and additional states are urging the Administration to respond to local conditions.

“The past years of drought have placed a tremendous pressure on pastures, forcing some producers to sell livestock or move them out of state,” said Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) “Absent moisture, this is at least one step we can take to help our producers stay in business.”

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html, “more than half of the lower 48 states were classified as abnormally dry or worse, with 35 percent experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, an area 17 percent larger than it was last week.” In addition, above-average temperatures are predicted for a large portion of the central and eastern states.

The thirty-one Kansas counties approved for emergency grazing of CRP acreage are: Cheyenne, Clark, Comanche, Decatur, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Haskell, Kearny, Lane, Lincoln, Logan, Meade, Morton, Ness, Osborne, Rawlins, Rush, Russell, Seward, Stanton, Stevens, Thomas, and Trego.

Superfund:  Cattlemen continue to urge support for H.R. 4341 in the House of Representatives.  This legislation will clarify that manure is not considered a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA/Superfund regulations). 

Congress established the Superfund program in 1974 to locate, investigate, and clean up toxic waste sites nationwide.  The program’s objective was to protect human health and the environment from the hazards of chemical waste.  But opponents of animal agriculture want to apply Superfund laws to livestock operations because of manure emissions. 

H.R. 4341 currently has 164 co-sponsors with 3 new co-sponsors added since last week!  They are Reps. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.), and Dave Camp (R-Mich.). Visit http://capwiz.com/beefusa to see a full list of co-sponsors.  If your Representative is not yet listed, send a message to them asking them to sign on!

NCBA Needs Producer Feedback on Farm Bill Issues:  The 2002 Farm Bill will expire September 30, 2007, but Congress has already begun work on developing the 2007 Farm Bill.  To prepare for the debate, NCBA is asking its members for feedback on what their needs for Farm Bill programs and policy might be.  As a member-driven organization, your NCBA leadership and staff need to hear from you. Whether you would like to see an existing program improved or perhaps feel that another program should be eliminated, we need to hear from you.

Visit our website at www.beefusa.org to provide us with your thoughts and feedback on what works, what doesn’t, what you need or what you don’t.  Your comments will help us plan for our farm bill discussions at the 2006 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Reno, July 10-13, 2006, where NCBA members will shape NCBA’s policy direction.

Senate Ag Committee Schedules Farm Bill Field Hearings:  The Senate Agriculture Committee announced they will host six field hearings on Farm Bill development in the coming weeks.  Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) says he hopes producers will participate and share their thoughts on farm bill programs.  “These hearings are a valuable opportunity for direct dialogue between farmers and the agriculture committee and for folks in the surrounding region to share how they would like to see farm policy shaped as we write the next Farm Bill,” Chambliss says.  The first hearing will take place June 23 in Albany, Georgia.  Jim Strickland, President of the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association is scheduled to testify on behalf of NCBA and Georgia Cattlemen. 

The Committee’s schedule of field hearings includes the following:

• Friday, June 23, 9:00am in Albany, Ga.
• Monday, July 17 in Missouri
• Friday, July 21 in Pennsylvania

Hearings are also planned in Iowa and two additional western states (specific scheduling details are still TBD). For more information, visit:  http://agriculture.senate.gov

House Ag Committee Hosts Farm Bill Field Hearing June 26th:  The House Agriculture Committee’s next public field hearing on 2007 Farm Bill development will be Monday, June 26 in Canandaigua, N.Y.  Producers are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion.  For more information visit: http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/schedule.html

USDA Releases Farm Bill Theme Paper on Conservation Programs:  USDA released June 8 the second in a series of reports summarizing comments from USDA's Farm Bill Forums and Listening Sessions.  This theme paper focuses on U.S. conservation programs. 

"It's important to have all the facts on the table as we continue our national conversation about future farm policy," said Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. "These analysis papers educate the public about how our programs operate and how they might be redesigned."

The conservation paper is authored by a team led by the Office of the USDA Chief Economist with input from the Economic Research Service (ERS), the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The conservation paper is available at: http://www.usda.gov/farmbill. Transcripts of the Farm Bill Forums and the 41 Farm Bill comment summary papers are also posted there.

Vietnam Trade:  The Agriculture Coalition for U.S.-Vietnam Trade, of which NCBA is a member, sent a letter June 12 to Congress urging lawmakers to approve Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with Vietnam as part of their accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Last month, the U.S. negotiated an agreement that defined the terms of Vietnam’s entry into the WTO, an agreement that could create significant new opportunities for U.S. agriculture.

Under the terms of the agreement, approximately three-fourths of U.S. agricultural exports – including beef - to Vietnam will face bound duty rates of 15 percent or less.  “Through the WTO accession process, the United States will gain significant new access to Vietnam’s growing market, while Vietnam will gain no greater access to the U.S. market, making it an undeniable win for American agriculture,” says the letter. “We therefore strongly support WTO membership for Vietnam and urge you to support extending PNTR status to that country as a necessary step in the membership process.” 

Appropriations and Disaster Relief: H.R. 4939, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery was completed in conference June 8, and was agreed to by both the House and Senate this week sending the $94.5 billion funding bill to the President’s desk for signature. 

The final package contains $500 million for hurricane-related agricultural disaster relief.  Of this $500 million, $140 million is appropriated for livestock assistance in the forms of the Livestock Compensation Program and Livestock Indemnity Program for producers in Gulf Coast areas. This assistance is designated for counties located in the geographic areas covered by a disaster declaration related to hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia, Rita, and Wilma. 

The bill recognizes losses suffered throughout the nation due to severe drought, wildfires and flooding but no funds are directly appropriated for such conditions.  Language was included, however, that instructs USDA to redirect any unused funds toward agricultural disaster relief beyond the Gulf Coast regions.  For more information, visit:   http://thomas.loc.gov and search for H.R.4939.

Senate Approves Schwab: The Senate confirmed June 8 the nomination of Deputy Trade Representative Susan Schwab to become U.S. Trade Representative. In her first press briefing June 9, Schwab says she aims to get Doha negotiations back on track and continue to fight for increased access for American producers.  

Urging the Facts About Coarse PM: NCBA’s Director of Environmental Issues Tamara Thies is leading a team of scientific experts on visits this week with officials at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to urge sound, science-based decisions on fugitive dust regulation.

NCBA is concerned with how the EPA is assessing the basis for regulation of coarse particulate matter (PM) under the Clean Air Act and sees the proposed requirements as undisputedly unattainable and nonsensical.  For more than 30 years the EPA has excluded fugitive dusts in making determinations of ambient compliance because there is not sufficient supporting evidence. Under the EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), air quality standards must be about protecting public health. Leading scientists have conducted a thorough review of the existing science on coarse PM and agree evidence is weak, limited, uncertain, and not sufficient to support a risk assessment. NCBA has compiled an extensive analysis, EPA comments, informational backgrounders, and epidemiological reviews, found online at:  http://hill.beef.org/coarseparticulatematter

FSIS Comments:  NCBA submitted comments on June 9 to the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) on a proposal to publish lists of retailers carrying recalled product (Docket No. 04-006P “Availability of Lists of Retail Consignees During Meat or Poultry Product Recalls.”)  In its comments, NCBA says the proposal would not enhance communication of recall information to consumers because of the time delay in getting accurate lists posted.  NCBA says, “this verification process, according to FSIS Directive 8080.1, Attachment 3 (dated May 4, 2004), should start within three days of an initiation of a Class I recall and be substantially completed within ten days. This means, at best, it will take the agency at least one week to publish the list of retail establishments and in most cases much longer.”

NCBA also says adequate information is provided in a more timely fashion in FSIS press releases, and consumers will continue to use this information to determine whether or not they have purchased recalled product.  A copy of NCBA’s comments are posted at:  http://hill.beef.org/pdfs/finalrecallretailcomments6-06.pdf

Walk-a-Mile in My Boots: Montana rancher Dusty Crary visited NCBA's Washington D.C. office this week as part of an educational job-swap with Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) official Mitch King, Regional Director from FWS's Region Six. The Walk-a-Mile in My Boots program, launched by NCBA and FWS, continues to provide government employees and cattle producers with on-the-ground work experiences in each other’s respective professions. This year the program expanded to include the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Any cattle producer can apply for the exchange program and visit local or national government offices, work on refuges or in labs, or travel to national headquarters in Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.walkamileinmyboots.org or www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/volunteers/walkamile.html.

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 735,318 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. 

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