Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: May 20, 2004

Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns
May 20, 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 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

NCBA Comments on Canada:  NCBA President and Kansas cattle producer Jan Lyons sent out a statement today regarding recent press activity threatening the credibility of the U.S. cattle industry. Lyons says: "It is personally distressing to see an organization that says it represents cattlemen continue to make baseless attacks that serve only to erode confidence among U.S. consumers in the safety of the beef supply.  Today’s new reports question the safety of beef raised not only in Canada, but by myself and nearly a million other American beef producers." 

Exactly one year ago today Canada discovered its first case of BSE.  The Canadian beef safety system is virtually identical to the system we have in place in the U.S.  Since Dec. 23, the United States, Canada and Mexico have worked together to harmonize the steps we take to protect consumers from any possible infection from BSE. The hundreds of thousands of cattle producers represented by the nation’s oldest and largest cattle industry association are deeply disturbed by the press coverage questioning the safety of U.S. beef and Canadian beef. 

NCBA Testifies Before Congress:  This Wednesday, Jan Lyons testified before the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. Lyons was asked to give the cattle industry’s perspective on critical beef trade issues.  The House called the hearing to review this country’s agricultural trade negotiations.

In her testimony, Lyons stated: "NCBA’s top priority is reopening the remainder of our export markets, which are worth about $15/cwt in the price of a fed steer. We have recovered about $5/cwt but we still have $10/cwt to go. We must also insist on complete harmonization of BSE regulations in North America to maintain credibility with our trading partners as we ask them to reestablish trade. We expect that every effort is being made to reopen them as soon as possible based upon sound science."

NCBA strongly supports trade initiatives that reduce barriers to access for U.S. beef. The greatest trade liberalizing benefits to our industry can be obtained via the multilateral World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiating process rather than a string of bilateral agreements. "Our assessment of how well negotiations are going depends the ability to reduce extreme tariffs on beef imports to Japan and South Korea," said Lyons.  "Increased market access via tariff reduction is the core mechanism by which U.S. beef producers can better their position in the global marketplace."

NCBA believes the goal of U.S. agricultural trade policy should be making U.S. beef as competitive as possible in the world market. The greatest opportunity for growth in our industry hinges on our ability to market our safe, wholesome high quality beef around the world.

Country-of-Origin Labeling:  Producer groups representing the beef, pork, fish and produce sectors are supporting a legislative effort to create a workable country-of-origin labeling program that will benefit producers and consumers and add value to American agriculture products. "We are excited that our long-term efforts to put in place a producer-friendly county-of-origin labeling program is finally coming to fruition," says NCBA Director of Legislative Affairs Bryan Dierlam. "The development of this legislation is built upon the eagerness of all segments of the production chain to work together to benefit producers with a low-cost program, and to benefit consumers with information on product origin." When such a measure is introduced, we hope that other groups within the agriculture community will consider the benefits of this effort and give it full consideration.  It is expected the bill will be introduced when Congress returns from Memorial Day recess.  Be on the lookout for more details! 

Japan Trade:  The U.S. and Japan had productive technical working groups meetings in Tokyo this Tuesday and Wednesday, involving detailed discussions on beef trade issues. According to USDA reports, the group visited a Japanese plant and conducted an open dialogue on BSE surveillance and control systems.  USDA’s Dr. Peter Fernandez, chairman of the U.S. BSE Technical Working Group,  released a statement after the first meeting, stating "we were able to openly discuss the areas of main importance, including the definition of BSE, SRMs, surveillance, feed bans and country risk categorization.  We found many areas where we are in agreement, and some areas where further discussion is needed.  This meeting has been very productive and provided a good start to this process.  We look forward to continuing our discussions next month when we host the next meeting in the United States."

NCBA continues to remain optimistic with the progress made, and urges for an expedited border reopening process. As of late April, the U.S. and Japan have agreed to actively engage in meetings over the summer that will discuss: (1) Definition of BSE and the method of testing; (2) Definition of Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) and the method of removal; (3) Appropriate surveillance; (4) Appropriate feed ban implementation; (5) Risk categorization/status of countries; (6) Cattle month-age identification and more.

Conservation Opportunities: This week, USDA Secretary Veneman announced the priority watersheds which will be used in the fiscal year 2004 Conservation Security Program (CSP) sign-up to be held this summer. According to Bruce I. Knight, Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service – the agency that will administer the program – priority watersheds in Indiana/Ohio, Washington, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Idaho, Iowa, Montana/North Dakota, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina will provide excellent opportunities for beef producers (both confinement and range) to participate in the Conservation Security Program.

"Beef producers who use a grazing plan allowing for periods of rest; keep records of livestock and grazing production; manage livestock access to water; actively control weeds and invasive plant species; monitor rangeland health; and who are willing to pursue additional conservation enhancements are excellent candidates for the program," he said.

"The selected watersheds reflect a cross-section of land uses, crop regions and landscapes that will test the basic concepts in our newest conservation program," Knight said. "Watersheds in this first sign-up represent a balance of resource needs, historic stewardship, potential producer eligibility, and the technology and adequate staff needed to successfully implement the program." Producers can expect more opportunities as the CSP program expands and future watersheds are announced.  More information on CSP is available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/csp/

Invasives Species:  The House Resources Committee unanimously approved S. 144, the Harmful Noxious Weed Act on Wednesday this week. The bill, first introduced by Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) in 2000, makes money available to local weed management entities to work cooperatively with all affected stakeholders - including cattlemen - on private and public lands to fight weed infestations. The measure is currently being considered by the House Committee on Agriculture.  NCBA and PLC will be working with that Committee to approve the bill and present it to the entire Congress for approval this session. 

Australian Trade:  This Tuesday, the U.S. and Australia signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Congress must now pass the agreement, expected to happen sometime this summer. NCBA’s primary objective in the negotiations of this agreement was to prevent any potential negative impact on U.S. beef producers caused by implementing an FTA before finalizing the WTO trade liberalization process. While we have consistently had strong concerns throughout the final negotiations of this agreement, we have continued to be involved in the process, staying engaged in order to push for a realistic agreement that would minimize economic impacts on U.S. cattle producers. Our long-standing policy has been to negotiate further trade liberalization via the multi-lateral (WTO) process and urge that any bilateral agreement which increases access to the U.S. market be conducted parallel with the multilateral process. We are extremely disappointed that the U.S.- Australia FTA negotiations did not proceed in this way.

Throughout the Australia FTA negotiating process, the assumption was made that there will be a new WTO Agreement within the next 10 years that will increase market access in beef trade globally, meaning greater access for U.S. beef around the world via a multilateral reduction in tariffs on beef. Then, Australia would not have enough production to meet this global demand and still annually fill its U.S. quota of which it has accomplished on only one occasion. NCBA continues to encourage the Bush Administration to put every means at its disposal into completing a multilateral (WTO) agreement that will provide significant new access for U.S. beef exports.

Animal ID:  Key NCBA producer/members participated in the National Institute for Animal Agriculture’s ID Info Expo this week in Chicago where the final U.S. Animal Identification Plan (USAIP) was presented.  Allen Bright, Nebraska producer and Chair of NCBA’s Animal ID Subcommittee, and Gary Wilson, Ohio producer and chair of the USAIP Bovine Species Working Group, were in attendance along with NCBA’s Executive Director of Legislative Affairs Jay Truitt. While applauding much of the initial legwork done by the USAIP team, NCBA continues to believe that a private data network is the best solution for producers.  NCBA’s Animal ID commission will work in the weeks ahead on a program that will best accomplish the needs of the industry and meet producers’ expectations.

Drought Conditions: As many producer-members know first-hand, drought conditions persist in many parts of the country.  NCBA continues to receive calls from producers, state associations and Congress about the situation.  We will continue to educate government officials on the severity of the current drought conditions.  In the recent past, USDA has relied upon three programs to provide relief to ranchers.  The Livestock Assistance Program (LAP), Livestock Compensation Program (LCP) and the Livestock Feed Assistance Program (LFAP).  Both LAP and LCP provided direct payments to producers; LAP payments have usually lagged behind the drought; the LCP payments were made concurrent with the drought and LFAP provided feed in the form of dried milk that was added to feed rations.  We have plans to meet with government officials about these programs next week, so any feedback on the usefulness of these programs will help us work with the Administration and Congress to develop an approach to the ongoing situation. Contact Bryan Dierlam at 202-347-0228. For more information on the drought conditions near you, go to: http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html.

Child Nutrition Act:  The Child Nutrition Act passed the Senate Agriculture Committee Wednesday, May 19, and the measure is expected to be taken up by the full Senate in the coming weeks.  The current legislation is set to expire June 30 if not reauthorized. The House passed their bill in March.  NCBA is supportive of the bill which will help to promote healthy eating habits for school age children.  This bill reauthorizes the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, Child and Adult Care Food Program, After-School Snack Program, Summer Food Service Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, and makes common-sense reforms to improve services and strengthen the programs on behalf of disadvantaged children and families. 

Energy Issues:  USDA announced May 17 a pilot project for renewable energy generation. The program will provide guaranteed loans for rural small businesses to develop the means to effectively destroy SRMs from cattle while providing a bio-based source of energy.  The maximum amount of total loan guarantees under the pilot program will be $50 million, and the amount of the loan guarantee cannot exceed 50 percent of the total project cost.  Applicants must submit their application and one copy to the USDA State Rural Development Office where the proposed project is located or where the borrower is headquartered.  All applications must be received by August.  More information is posted at www.rurdev.usda.gov.

Media Contact:

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

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