News Update

News Update
July 24, 2008

Nebraska Angus Tour Set for September 19-21

The Nebraska Angus Association (NAA) will host its 2008 tour Sept. 19-21 in the North Platte area. Angus enthusiasts are encouraged to attend the event, which will include ranch tours, producer displays and speakers.

The tour will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept.19, at the Holiday Inn Express & Convention Center in North Platte. Evening events will include a program with hors d’oeurves and refreshments. Bill Rishel will give a presentation on the history of the Beef Check-off.

On Saturday, breakfast will be provided at Daigger Angus, North Platte. The stop also includes a tour of their herd. The tour will continue at the University of Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center, followed by a stop at Arrow One Ranch south of North Platte. After lunch at Ankony at Rishel Angus, the tour will stop at North Platte Feeders for a tour of their feedlot.

The afternoon continues with a pasture tour stop by L Bar L Angus of Wallace. The day’s events will conclude with a stop at Triple B Angus Ranch and Knoll Ranch for the evening meal, tour of cattle, entertainment and a brief program conducted by Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) staff.

Activities on Sunday begin with breakfast at Baldridge Bros. Angus west of North Platte along with viewing of their cattle. The tour will continue with a stop at Albrecht Angus north of North Platte with a display of cattle from the Hansen Ranch, Lawrence, Jeanne, Travis and Melody Hansen from Stapleton. From Albrecht Angus, the tour moves to Sutherland for lunch with a stop at the Hanging H Ranch operated by Neal Hansen/Pat Stokey with a cattle tour. Craig Dethlefs, North Platte, will also have a display of his cattle set up for viewing. The tour will conclude with an afternoon tour stop at Snyder Bros. Angus, Paxton.

To register, contact Barb Rishel at 308-534-5305, Ron Sabata at 308-530-5959 or Suzy Hebbert, NAA Secretary at 308-577-6700. Registrations for the tour are due by Sept. 5. A block of rooms at the Holiday Inn Express has been reserved and attendees must make their own reservations by calling 877-863-4780 by Sept. 1.

— release provided by American Angus Association

Recap of last week’s Congressional Actions

Sen. Johnson’s (D-S.D.) language to bar the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule allowing for imports from Argentina was accepted into the bill. This language would set a trade precedence for requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to report to Congress regarding diseases in Argentina. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) sent a letter to the members of the committee voicing its opposition to this language.

Wednesday, July 16, the full House and Energy Committee voted out both the Animal Drug User Fee Amendments (ADUFA) of 2008 and the Animal Generic Drug User Fee Amendments (AGDUFA) of 2008. Both of these bills are important to the animal agriculture industry as they help get needed medical provisions to cattle producers.

NCBA reports there were rumors that during the House hearing, an amendment would be offered to ban the use of antibiotics in feed. However, the amendment was not offered and the bill was reported from committee as “clean.”

— release provided by National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

Groups Urge Congress to Halt Advancement of NAIS, Request Oversight Hearing

In formal correspondence sent today to the leaders of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, two national groups and nine others — all from different states — requested that Congress immediately halt any further advancement of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and to conduct an oversight hearing on the USDA’s NAIS activities to carefully and deliberately investigate the full ramifications of USDA’s NAIS-related actions and proposals.

“USDA’s procedures for advancing and implementing NAIS are improper, if not outright unlawful,” said R-CALF USA President/Region VI Director Max Thornsberry, “and yet, Congress continues to appropriate funding for NAIS, subjecting U.S. farmers and ranchers to extraordinary pressure from USDA to assist the agency in its implementation of an unproven, questionable and potentially cost-prohibitive program that Congress itself has not seen fit to authorize.”

The groups making the request were R-CALF USA, South Dakota Stockgrowers Association, Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska, Independent Cattlemen of Iowa, Independent Cattlemen of Wyoming, Buckeye Quality Beef Association, Oregon Livestock Producers Association, Colorado Independent CattleGrowers (sic) Association, Kansas Cattlemen’s Association, Independent Beef Association of North Dakota and the Cornucopia Institute. They assert that:

USDA misrepresented Privacy Act protections to U.S. livestock producers.
USDA improperly acquired premises registrations by registering premises without farmer or rancher consent.
Several states have found it necessary to pass legislation to protect citizens from USDA’s NAIS-related advances that promote government-sanctioned animal identification systems.
USDA is proceeding without regard to stakeholder cost, liability and confidentiality concerns.
USDA’s ongoing NAIS activities usurp congressional authority and potentially violate Administrative Procedures Act rules.

“Though numerous bills have been introduced in Congress to authorize USDA to establish some sort of animal identification system, Congress has not acted to delegate any such authorization to USDA,” Thornsberry concluded. “R-CALF and many other groups have repeatedly appealed to Congress to cease any further advancement of NAIS, but our requests have gone unheeded. Now we are respectfully, but strongly, urging Congress to immediately halt further advancement of NAIS and to conduct an oversight hearing on USDA’s NAIS activities so that the full ramifications of USDA’s NAIS-related actions can be carefully and deliberately investigated.”

— release provided by R-CALF United Stockgrowers of America

— compiled by Mathew Elliott and Tosha Powell, assistant editors, Angus Productions Inc.