Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
March 24, 2005
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).

Message from NCBA President Jim McAdams: NCBA President and Texas Cattle Producer Jim McAdams addressed nearly 3,000 cattle producers in Fort Worth at the 2005 Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Convention, March 18-21. Below is an excerpt from his remarks:

"We are currently in a defining time in the cattle business. It is truly the best of times and the worst of times. Never have we had it so good yet been so mad about it. Fear and distrust are rampant in our industry and we’re being torn by competing visions. In recent years, we’ve experienced tremendous successes. Demand is up 25 percent. Prices for all classes of cattle are at record highs. We have turned huge trade deficits into billion dollar surpluses that are putting more dollars into our pockets. Yet even in the midst of these ever increasing trade surpluses, there are some speaking out against international trade.

"NCBA’s vision calls for building demand by producing the safest, highest quality beef anywhere and doing it better than anybody. Increasing demand will allow for increased production and increased profits. The goal is to increase demand faster than we can increase supplies, thus allowing our industry to grow and prosper. We know we can do it because we’ve been doing it. We saw near record beef supplies last year. Per capita consumption of beef actually increased two pounds last year with record high beef prices. Beef demand for the year was up 7.74 percent. An opposing vision in our industry calls for managing and restricting supplies to keep prices high. It calls for more government intervention in our markets, more government limits on who can own cattle, more government say in where cattle come from and more government controls over how we market our products. All of these actions decrease our independence while increasing our costs.

"NCBA’s mission remains-- 'To increase the profit opportunities for cattle and beef producers by enhancing the business climate (this means limiting government and holding down costs) and building consumer demand.' We must have trade policies based upon sound science, facts and fairness, and we must lead the world in moving toward consistent and effective trade rules. We have been the largest exporter of beef in the world. We are the largest producer of high quality grain-fed beef in the world. We have the most to gain and the most to lose in international trade. We know that if we don’t succeed in developing sound trade rules for beef, then we can’t have trade. But if we don’t have trade, we limit our growth potential, we limit our profit potential, and we limit our future prosperity.

"Prosperity comes from working for the future and not from being satisfied with maintaining the status quo. Prosperity is not achieved by twisting facts, distorting the truth and preventing change. It comes by building relationships and alliances, earning trust and working for real solutions."

Taiwan Market to Re-Open: Cattle producers are pleased Taiwan has confirmed April 16, 2005 as the final date for the re-opening its borders to U.S. beef exports. Taiwan leads the Asian markets with this re-opening and is a major export market for U.S. beef and beef products. Total beef exports to Taiwan in 2003 amounted to 19,200 metric tons (mt), valued at $76 million before the ban on U.S. beef due to the U.S.’s Dec. 23, 2003 discovery of BSE in a Canadian-born cow. The April 16 re-opening will cover boneless, bone-in, variety meats and prepared/processed product, which is around 75 percent of the export market. Our members have been fighting for this, and we hope other Asian markets, especially Japan, will follow Taiwan’s lead as soon as possible.

CAFTA-DR: NCBA continues to urge support for the U.S.-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which would open up further export markets for top-quality U.S. beef. As a vote in Congress is expected this spring, NCBA is urging all members to contact their Congressmen and push for final passage of this win-win agreement for U.S. beef. NCBA will be working with specific key states on targeted outreach campaigns to get this positive message out in the countryside. For information on how to help with this effort, or to get more information including fact sheets, and analyses on how the CAFTA-DR impacts cattlemen, contact Michelle Reinke in NCBA’s Washington office, visit NCBA’s web site at http://hill.beef.org, or go to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative online at www.ustr.gov and click on the CAFTA-DR Briefing Book.

Spring Conference Information: NCBA’s 2005 Spring Conference is April 13-16. Hundreds of cattle producers are making plans to attend this important cattle industry conference in Washington, D.C. Attendees will hear directly from top policymakers, meet face-to-face with key Congressional offices, government agency influencers and have the opportunity to articulate policy priorities for today’s cattle industry. More information is posted on our website at http://hill.beef.org/spring, or contact Erica Spiegle espiegle@beef.org in NCBA’s Washington office. See below for some of our Spring Conference program highlights!

-Secretary Johanns to Address Spring Conference: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns has been confirmed to speak to NCBA member-producers at our 2005 Spring Conference session on Friday morning, April 15. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear first-hand the Ag Secretary’s thoughts on BSE, trade, and our growing cattle industry.

-Senate Ag Committee Chairman to Address NCBA: In addition to hearing from Ag Secretary Mike Johanns, Spring Conference attendees will be briefed by Senate Ag Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). Just prior to our Capitol Hill visits, Senator Chambliss will tell conference attendees about hot issues in Congress and how to communicate the cattlemen’s position to your members of Congress. Senator Chambliss is scheduled to address Thursday morning’s Legislative Issues Briefing.

Animal Identification: Members of NCBA’s Animal ID Commission met with USDA/APHIS officials this week to discuss the continuing development of a national animal identification system. NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Jay Truitt, Animal ID Commission Chair and Nebraska cattleman Allen Bright, and Texas cattle producers Matt Brockman and Ross Wilson met with John Clifford, APHIS Deputy Administrator and Neil Hammerschmidt, USDA’s National Animal ID Program Coordinator. Cattlemen have historically supported plans for a system coordinated in the private sector as a means to protect producer privacy and keep implementation costs down. NCBA's' Animal ID Commission is working on a timeline for a private-coordinated system that will combine existing ID programs into a national network, and will alleviate producers’ concerns about confidentiality and cost.

Conservation Security Program: Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced last week a nationwide sign-up for the Conservation Security Program (CSP) that will be available to approximately 235,000 farmers and ranchers in 220 watersheds. "Those who depend on the land to make a living are the best stewards of the land," said Johanns. "This is a unique program that offers payments for enhancing natural resources, rewards those farmers and ranchers who are model conservationists and provides incentives for other producers to meet those same high standards of environmental performance." The 2005 CSP program sign-up will also allow eligible producers to receive compensation for converting to renewable energy fuels such as soy biodiesel and ethanol, for recycling 100 percent of on-farm lubricants, and for implementing energy production, including wind, solar, geothermal and methane production. Sign-up will be held March 28 to May 27. More information on CSP is available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp.

Ag Day 2005: Agriculture organizations across the country are celebrating "National Ag Week" this week (March 20-26, 2005). Each year, on or around the first day of Spring, National Ag Day gives producers, agricultural associations, corporations, universities, government agencies and others across America the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the abundance provided by agriculture. NCBA is a proud sponsor of Ag Day 2005. For more information, visit www.agday.org.

Congressional Schedule: Congress is out of session this week for Easter recess. They are scheduled to reconvene April 4.

USDA Surveillance for BSE: USDA continues its enhanced BSE surveillance program which began June 1. To date, 284,257 tests have been conducted with no positive cases reported. APHIS’s goal is to test as many cattle from the high-risk population as possible in a 12- to 18-month period. Testing 268,500 animals will detect BSE at a rate of 1 in 10 million adult cattle at a 99 percent confidence level. Although the program has now passed its 268,500 targeted number, APHIS says it will continue its enhanced surveillance program for the 12-18 month time period.

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.

Please feel free to reprint in full.