The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Todd Wilkinson testified in a hearing titled “A Review of Animal Agriculture Stakeholder Priorities” on May 17. He spoke on the current state of the cattle industry and priorities the NCBA intends to focus on during the 118th Congress.
First on the agenda is passing the 2023 Farm Bill. Animal disease, especially foreign, is of high concern. The NCBA urged Congress to support animal health programs such as the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program to better equip the USDA and stakeholders to prepare and combat animal health threats.
In addition to the hearing, the NCBA released a separate statement in support of H.R 3419/S. 1666, the Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance and Rapid Response Act, which would provide additional funding for three important animal health programs established through the 2018 Farm Bill.
The Beef Checkoff was also a topic of discussion as the recent Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act was introduced in the House of Representatives earlier this year. Although the act claimed to benefit checkoff organizations, in reality the policies greatly inhibited the ability of producers to market and promote their respective industries. Wilkinson asked Congress to “defend the beef checkoff and vehemently oppose the OFF Act.”
Likewise, the NCBA will be advocating to reduce regulations placed on cattle producers, in acts such as the Endangered Species Act, which needs urgent improvements, and the National Environmental Policy Act, which has left some ranchers waiting years to renew their federal grazing permits.
Other priorities include nullifying the USDA’s harmful rules in the Packers and Stockyards Act, correcting the record on cattle’s effect on the climate, opening new opportunities for trade and expanding beef processing capacity.
“It has been said many times before and will certainly be said again in the future: Cattle producers are resilient,” said Wilkinson in his closing statement. “Overcoming adversity, and sometimes the odds, we will continue to produce the best beef on earth in the most sustainable way in the world.”
The press release along with the full written testimony can be found here.
