The U.S. House of Representatives today voted 217-203 to pass the agricultural appropriations bill for fiscal 2012, cutting $2.7 billion in discretionary spending, including funds for USDA’s proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) regulation. The National Cattlemens Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), both opposed to the proposed rule, are pleased that the appropriations …
GIPSA Heating Up
It’s been almost exactly a year since USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) published a controversial proposed rule that would fundamentally change the way livestock is marketed in this country, and those opposed to it remain hopeful that the proposal itself will be fundamentally changed – or just eliminated. Colin Woodall with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) …
Over Regulation All Across the Nation Blues
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is going creative on all the regulation being faced by farmers today. Maybe we should start a video sensation called, “EPA Regulators Gone Wild.” Now I wonder what kind of video that would generate. How about this one, just released by NCBA? Let’s help it go viral. Share it out via your social media channels! …
Ag Groups Call For Trade Agreement Approval
Since May is both World Trade Month and National Beef Month, it was appropriate for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to host a news conference on Capitol Hill today urging the Obama administration to send pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress immediately. NCBA was joined by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), American …
Waiting for GIPSA
It’s been 11 months since it was first published and six months since the comment period ended, but it will be several more months yet before USDA makes a decision on the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule. “There were 66,000 comments, about 30,000 of which are unique,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told an agriculture committee meeting …
Beltway Beef Commentary
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has launched its first ever Beltway Beef audio program. The weekly commentary will feature NCBA members, leaders, staff and more. The talk is all policy all the time, honing in on critical issues inside the nation’s Beltway that have a direct impact on U.S. cattle ranchers across the country. This week you’ll hear Colin …
Lots of Trade Talking This Week
Since May is World Trade Month, you would think it would be a great time for Congress to pass those pesky pending Free Trade Agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama that have been awaiting approval for years. Several of the nation’s largest agricultural organizations who testified before the House Agriculture Committee this week on why it is so important to …
Speaking Up For Animal Agriculture
The past Chair of the Animal Agriculture Alliance is Dr. Elizabeth Parker, Chief Veterinarian, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Dr. Parker welcomed us all to the Stakeholders Summit of the Animal Agriculture Alliance and I caught up with her on our morning break. Dr. Parker says that when she took over as Chair for the Animal Agriculture Alliance her goal was …
Agriculture Excited About Colombia Free Trade News
It’s taken over four years to get to this point, but some action is finally happening on the Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) and U.S. agriculture interests are thrilled. President Obama announced today that an agreement has been reached on the deal that was signed by the U.S. Trade Representative and the Colombian trade minister on Nov. 22, 2006. The …
Congress Repeals Stupid 1099 Provision
Put this in the “who thought this was a good idea in the first place?” file. By a vote of 87-12, the U.S. Senate voted Tuesday to repeal the idiotic health care reform provision that would have required businesses to file a 1099 form with the IRS any time they spend more than $600 a year with another business, sending …