9 minute read
STATE OF NCBA
from 2021 Fall Directions
by NCBA
Cattle Markets Fair, competitive and transparent markets are essential to the profitability of cattle producers in every sector of our industry. NCBA is working to support efforts that return market leverage to producers.
The Regional Triggers Subgroup continues to implement and evaluate NCBA’s Voluntary Approach to Achieve Robust Price Discovery in the Fed Cattle Market that was developed following the 2020 Summer Business Meeting. This framework explores a voluntary, industry-led solution to achieving robust price discovery via increased levels of negotiated trade.
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The subgroup reported that a major trigger was tripped in Q1 of 2021, and no major trigger was tripped in Q2. If another major trigger is tripped in 2021, NCBA will pursue a legislative or regulatory solution to increase negotiated trade. Significant progress has been made on this front, and NCBA continues to lead the way to improve price discovery.
At the 2021 Annual Convention in Nashville, Tenn., the Live Cattle Marketing Committee passed a policy directive to establish a working group that will explore potential improvements to the reporting and availability of market data.
No matter how our members choose to market their live cattle, there is no one silver bullet solution to address these complex challenges. NCBA is tackling the issue from multiple angles by:
• Working with USDA and Congress to support the expansion of beef processing capacity, specifically among independent, regional and local packing facilities.
• Working with Congress to secure reauthorization of
Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR). This legislation requires packers to report market information to USDA-
AMS, who then report it to the public.
• Applying pressure to the U.S. Department of Justice to release the findings of their investigation into whether the packing sector is engaging in anticompetitive or antitrust practices. Transportation Transporting live cattle in a manner that is humane, safe and efficient is a top priority for our producers and livestock haulers. Transportation directly impacts animal safety and well-being, as well as the security of a reliable, efficient beef supply chain.
The existing hours of service (HOS) regulations for livestock haulers limit on-duty time to 14 hours, with a maximum drive time of 11 consecutive hours. The driver must then rest for 10 consecutive hours before returning to duty. For the great majority of trips made by our livestock haulers, this is simply not enough drive time to accommodate the realities of hauling live animals across the country. NCBA is working hard to ensure federal regulations are flexible enough to allow our drivers to do their jobs safely and humanely, while keeping grocery store shelves stocked with beef. NCBA is doing this by:
• Asking Congress to provide another ELD exemption for livestock haulers through the appropriations process.
• Securing an extension of the HOS exemption from the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the most recent of which extends through Nov. 30, 2021.
• Ensuring the current 150 air-mile exemption allows anyone hauling agricultural commodities to be exempt from hours-of-service rules until they are outside of the 150-air mile radius (172 road miles) of their starting point for the day. We are working to permanently secure the same exemption for the back end of agricultural commodity hauls to provide added flexibility during the unloading period. ESA/Wildlife Cattle producers play a vital role in the conservation of wildlife species and habitat, but the Endangered Species Act (ESA) creates significant additional burdens in these efforts. An imbalanced focus on the listing phase, unclear or constantly changing population targets, and inefficient procedures within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), have left species languishing on the list long after FWS has publicly declared them as recovered. This wastes time, creates uncertainty for
In June 2021, FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service announced their intent to roll back ESA reforms that NCBA helped secure in 2019. As federal agencies consider changes to the implementation of the ESA, NCBA is focused on the following priorities:
• Cattle producers must have a voice in the process. ESA listings have a direct impact on cattle producers’ ability to be responsible stewards of the land and water. Federal regulators must consider the good work already done when evaluating a species’ status.
• Cattle producers need the flexibility and incentives to pursue voluntary conservation projects. Ranchers and farmers do a tremendous amount of voluntary environmental work each day, even when it comes at a financial or personal cost to their operation. ESA listings discourage or prohibit much of this voluntary work, resulting in unintended residual harm to wildlife and the entire ecosystem.
• Species must be efficiently delisted when they are fully recovered. Rampant litigation threatens FWS’s ability to ever delist species, despite successful recovery efforts.
NCBA is involved in litigation to defend the delisting of the gray wolf, and we will continue to push back against the overreach and abuse that arises from failure to delist recovered species. Product of the USA (POTUSA) In lieu of the “Product of the USA” (POTUSA) label, NCBA is advocating for a more appropriate generic label, such as “Processed in the USA.” In addition, NCBA requests FSIS to render all other claims relating to U.S. origin ineligible for generic approval. Further, NCBA hopes to work with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to proactively educate cattle producers, processors and retailers about the various opportunities that exist to develop voluntary, verifiable origin marketing claims that deliver tangible benefits to cattle producers without violating rules of trade.
Voluntary source-verified labels represent investments made by producers to continually improve their product and meet consumer demand. Marketing through source-verification will provide a more accurate and truthful description of the product. This will reduce the potential for consumer confusion while increasing the ability for cattle producers to capture additional premiums for their product.
• In 2019, NCBA established the “Transparency in Labeling
Working Group” to investigate producer concerns about the “Product of the USA” label.
• After several months of investigation, research and discussion, the producer-led group recommended new policy for NCBA to address these concerns.
• NCBA members approved the policy in 2020, strengthening NCBA’s support for the use of voluntary source of origin claims and USDA verification of any source of origin claim or label.
• In June, NCBA submitted a petition to USDA-FSIS to eliminate the generic “Product of the USA” label.
• In July, USDA announced a top-to-bottom review of the
POTUSA label. NCBA stands ready to work with USDA throughout that process. Infrastructure Infrastructure investments are a key component in ensuring the long-term viability of rural America, and specifically the agricultural industry. NCBA's goal for the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021” has been straight forward — get key policy priorities that benefit farmers and ranchers included in the bill, while ensuring that the budget is not balanced on the backs of those same farmers and ranchers through changes to long-standing provisions in the federal tax code. • Additional flexibility for livestock haulers.
• Rural broadband funding.
• Federal commitment to improvement of the permitting process for water infrastructure projects.
Modernizing America’s transportation infrastructure is important to our cattle producers across the country, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a step in the right direction – investing an additional $110 billion in U.S. roads and bridges, $65 billion for broadband and hours-of-service reforms that provide flexibility for our livestock haulers who maintain a high level of safety on the roads while also ensuring grocery store shelves remain fully stocked with beef.
In addition, historic drought conditions throughout the West serve as a reminder that water infrastructure investments are essential to prepare for changing hydrological conditions, expanding populations, pressing environmental needs and other challenges. International Trade This year, the U.S. saw gains in beef exports to Korea, Japan and China. Exports to Asia provide a way for American cattle producers to market the cuts of beef that are less popular in the U.S., such as tongues, short plate and liver. These products often sell for a premium in foreign markets, providing U.S. producers with added value for their cattle.
U.S. beef exports reached a record pace during the first half of 2021. July beef exports totaled 122,743 metric tons valued at $939.1 million, a 45 percent increase from a year ago. According to the U.S. Meat Export Federation, January through July beef exports set records at 822,830 metric tons, with value up 30 percent to $5.58 billion. Continued on page 14
STATE OF NCBA
Other countries crave American beef, and NCBA is working to expand market opportunities for American cattle producers by:
• Building on numerous trade wins, including the U.S.-
Mexico-Canada Agreement, Japan Bilateral Trade Deal and U.S.-China Economic and Trade Agreement.
• Supporting reauthorization of Trade Promotion Authority.
• Working with federal agencies and trade negotiators to advance science-based trade policy that removes tariff and non-tariff barriers. Waters of the United States The 2015 Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule allowed expansive government overreach which disrupted cattle operations and led to years of litigation. In 2020, the Trump Administration finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), a major win for cattle producers that addressed many of the issues caused by WOTUS.
Recently, a federal court in Arizona struck down the NWPR and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers halted implementation of the Navigable Waters Protection Rule and are implementing “Waters of the United States” consistent with the pre-2015 regulations until further notice.
Earlier in the year, the Biden Administration announced its intent to repeal and replace the NWPR. NCBA will always work to protect cattle farmers and ranchers from federal overreach. NCBA will support cattle producers throughout this process by:
• Submitting comments and recommendations to the EPA and Army Corps.
• Working with state affiliates and numerous producers to submit comments to the EPA and Army Corps during public listening sessions. • Monitoring rulemaking activity to ensure that the voices of farmers and ranchers are heard by policymakers. Climate and Sustainability Cattle producers have always been good stewards of our nation’s land and water. To underscore this message, NCBA released the U.S. Cattle Industry Sustainability Goals, a public commitment to continued environmental, economic and social sustainability.
These goals were developed by a producer-led task force with grassroots input. By setting goals, NCBA is committing to continuous industry improvement while providing a way to measure and document those efforts.
The goals include:
• Demonstrating climate neutrality of U.S. cattle production by 2040.
• Creating and enhancing opportunities that result in a quantifiable increase in producer profitability and economic sustainability by 2025.
• Enhancing trust in cattle producers as responsible stewards of their animals and resources by expanding educational opportunities in animal care and handling programs to further improve animal well-being.
• Continuously improve our industry’s workforce safety and well-being.
Learn more at NCBA.org/producers/sustainability.