The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) praised the signing last week of the National Security Memorandum to Strengthen the Security and Resilience of U.S. Food and Agriculture, which will allow the federal government to identify the threats facing our food supply and enhance national preparedness and response. “Our agricultural sector faces a variety of threats that could inhibit cattle producers’ …
NCBA CEO Represents Beef Producers at White House
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CEO Colin Woodall this week attended the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to represent the nation’s beef cattle producers. “The White House has prioritized ending hunger and increasing access to nutritious food and America’s cattle producers are ready to help by providing safe, sustainable, and nutritious protein to the world,” said NCBA …
Cattle Industry Summer Meeting Underway in Reno
More than 600 cattle industry leaders are attending the Summer Business Meeting in Reno this week to provide direction for important industry programs. The event includes meetings of cattlemen and women representing the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB), American National CattleWomen and National Cattlemen’s Foundation. NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane …
Senate Ag Committee Passes Cattle Market Bills
The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced two bills on Wednesday with bipartisan support – the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act and the Meat Packing Special Investigator Act. Both bills were strongly supported by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). During his weekly call with agricultural reporters Tuesday, Grassley said he thinks the bills have a good chance of making it to the …
RIP Cowboy Poet Baxter Black
Baxter Black, nationally popular cowboy poet, storyteller, and comedian died June 10 at the age of 77. I had the pleasure of meeting Baxter in 2007 when he was working with the Beef Checkoff on radio spots and he would entertain at the Beef Board dinners during the annual meetings. He was the real deal, a rodeo cowboy and and …
USDA Announces Meat Supply Chain Actions
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack used an appearance before the Senate Agriculture Committee on Thursday to make a few announcements, including issuing a new Packers & Stockyards Act rulemaking, making available $200 Million to expand competition in meat processing, and investing $25 million in workforce training. Vilsack said the actions build on President Biden’s whole-of-government effort to promote competition in …
Agri-Pulse Newsmakers Focuses on Cattle Hearings
The newest edition of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers is out and this week the focus is on cattle hearings and beef politics. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees both convened hearings to examine the beef sector this week. Now, Congress is left to determine its next steps and whether or not to pursue big reforms to the nation’s cattle sector. Newsmakers interviews …
NCBA President Testifies on Cattle Market Policies
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association NCBA President Don Schiefelbein of Minnesota testified before a House Agriculture Committee hearing Wednesday on cattle market policy issues. Schiefelbein urged House members to support key policies with broad, unified support across the entire cattle industry including a cattle contract library, Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) reauthorization, and investments in small regional processing capacity expansion. “The only …
NCBA Opposes Mandate on Cattle Sales
Two bills designed to address transparency and oversight within cattle marketing were the subject of a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on Tuesday where the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association expressed opposition to a “government mandate on cattle sales.” The hearing was specifically on the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act sponsored by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and …
U.S. Agricultural Exports Shattered Records in 2021
The American agricultural industry posted its highest annual export levels ever recorded last year, according to the final 2021 trade data from the Department of Commerce. The report shows exports of U.S. farm and food products to the world in 2021 totaled $177 billion, topping the 2020 total by 18 percent and eclipsing the previous record, set in 2014, by …