News Update
December 12, 2014
House Passes Fiscal Year 2015 Funding
Dec. 11, 2014, the House passed the 2015 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, funding much of the government through Sept. 30, 2015. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President and Victoria, Texas, cattleman Bob McCan says this appropriations bill contained many of the priorities for cattlemen and women.
“We were very happy to see a number of issues that have affected our producers addressed in this legislation,” said McCan. “It is clear that Congress recognizes and agrees that the administration’s regulatory zeal has gone too far and if left unchecked, it will impede the economic growth of rural America.”
Key for cattlemen and women, the report language for the USDA contained a provision instructing the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a report with his recommendations for any changes in the Federal law required to bring the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) program into compliance with our international trade obligations. This report would need to be submitted within 15 days of the appeal decision from the WTO or by May 1, 2015, whichever comes first.
The report also directs the Secretary of Agriculture not to implement a duplicative beef checkoff.
Importantly for producers, the bill would also direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Interpretative rule.
The bill also contained language to continue the defunding of the Grain Inspectors, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) provisions and language on a number of environmental regulations. Specifically, the bill prevents funding for the EPA to require cattle producers to obtain greenhouse gas permits for livestock and to prevent mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from manure-management systems. Finally, the bill prohibited the Department of Interior from listing the sage grouse on the Endangered Species list, threatening the viability of ranching in the West without a corresponding benefit to the sage grouse.
NCBA urges the Senate to pass the Omnibus legislation.
For more information, please view the full release here.
House Passes Trillion Dollar Funding Package for 2015
Dec. 11, 2014, with a vote of 219 to 206 the House passed a trillion dollar omnibus spending package to fund the government through the next year. The Senate is expected to take up the measure soon and with large bipartisan support in the House, all indications are that the bill will pass.
Brenda Richards, Public Lands Council (PLC) president, commended lawmakers for including critical policy provisions and funding levels for the land-management agencies.
The bill not only prohibits funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to list the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but also includes $15 million within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) budget for sage grouse conservation, continuing the efforts already under way to protect the species and its habitat; and helping to prevent a future listing.
The range/grazing management budgets for the BLM and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) will both remain level with the fiscal year 14 allocations, providing the necessary resources for the agencies to continue working through the backlog of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis and respond to litigation pressure being brought by radical environmental groups. These allocations run contrary to the president’s proposal to drastically reduce funding for the federal range programs.
Congress addressed the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) detrimental “WOTUS” proposal, requiring the agencies to withdraw the controversial Interpretive Rule that attempts to clarify farming and ranching exemptions under the em While the bill does not block the proposal in its entirety, Richards said this is a step in the right direction.
Richards applauded the decision of the House not to include an arbitrary increase in the grazing fee that the president had included in his budget request again this year. The proposed $1/AUM (animal unit month) fee on top of the current market-based fee would have cost an estimated total of $6.5 million and $5 million for BLM and the USFS permittees, respectively.
Combined with the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 14,em is funded in the full amount of $442 million. The USFWS was also allocated $1 million in compensations for livestock loss due to wolves.
Also allocated was $3.5 billion for wildfire fighting and preventions programs within the Department of Interior and the USFS, $526 million for hazardous fuels reduction activities, and $65 million for the acquisition of aircraft to enhance firefighting capacity.
PLC urges the Senate to pass the omnibus bill.
USCA Responds to Spending Bill Riders
The United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) responded to the Dec. 11 House passage of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015. Released late on the evening of Dec. 9, the spending bill and its corresponding report include several riders of concern to USCA. The House-passed bill will now be considered by the Senate; USCA will continue to address multiple items of concern within the bill ahead of the Senate vote.
In a joint letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committee leadership, USCA and the National Farmers Union (NFU) urged opposition to the riders included in the bill concerning COOL, continued restriction to GIPSA reform, ongoing ban of horse processing, and one which directs the Secretary of Agriculture to halt any action in the development of a new beef checkoff.
USCA President Danni Beer, Keldron, S.D., commented on the provisions, “USCA is adamantly opposed to all four of these riders. What is supposed to be a general funding bill for the government, used to preclude a shutdown, has become a vehicle for issues that will impact producers across the U.S.”
“Language which would impede needed reform of the beef checkoff is particularly troubling,” stated Beer. “In November, USDA issued a call for public comments concerning the development of a new beef checkoff. This rider discounts the comments submitted this week by both USCA and cattle producers regarding this important program.”
“USCA will continue to monitor the ongoing discussions and pending vote of this bill in the Senate. I urge all producers to contact their respective senators today and to voice their opposition to the inclusion of the COOL, GIPSA, banning horse processing and checkoff riders.”
To view the letters sent by USCA and NFU, click here.
LEA Announces Date for Livestock Exporting Seminar in 2015
The Livestock Exporters Association (LEA) will host the fourth annual Livestock Exporting 4.0 seminar Monday, Feb. 16, at the Ameristar Casino Resort Spa in St. Louis, Mo., in conjunction with the United States Livestock Genetics Export (USLGE) annual meeting. This seminar is designed for experienced exporters, LEA members and industry affiliates interested in marketing livestock abroad.
“The exporting business continues to grow worldwide, as do the challenges we face on virtually every transaction,” says LEA President Renee Strickland. “The fact is that we have lots of tools that can help U.S. exporters be competitive, but to be successful you have to know how to tap into those resources.”
The daylong session will give participants an in-depth look inside the procedures associated with shipping livestock overseas and educate exporters on the sweeping changes taking place in the industry. Officials from the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Services Veterinary Services (APHIS VS) will be present to review the latest rule changes and provide exporters with a country-by-country update on protocol negotiations.
In addition to updates on the overall livestock economic picture and updates from Washington D.C., special segments will focus on genomic testing in today’s export environment and provide exporters with a clear understanding of how genomic testing can be an asset for livestock exporting in certain countries, and what it can and cannot prove.
The biggest hurdle for most exporters is the ability to meet the disease and testing protocol required of the foreign customer. Livestock Exporting 4.0 will provide industry experts to discuss the various diseases and testing options available. As new markets become available in countries that are not formally open to U.S. livestock exporters, exporters face unique and sometimes specific challenges to complete the process. The segments on “Testing” and “Doing Business Outside the Boundaries” will help exporters with answers for those challenges.
The LEA has developed extensive standards for the safe handling of livestock during export and will provide exporters the opportunity to complete the initial training required, which will help qualify themselves for future audits.
Strickland encourages everyone with an interest in marketing livestock, including seedstock producers and breeders, veterinarians and freight providers to attend.
For more information please view the Angus Journal Virtual Library calendar of upcoming events here.
Editor’s Note: The articles used within this site represent a mixture of copyrights. If you would like to reprint or repost an article, you must first request permission of Angus Productions Inc. (API) by contacting the editor at 816-383-5200; 3201 Frederick Ave., Saint Joseph, MO 64506. API claims copyright to this web site as presented. We welcome educational venues and cattlemen to link to this site as a service to their audience.