It looks like the 2011 Cattle Industry Annual Convention & NCBA Trade Show will be officially kicking off on Wednesday without us, although we are still trying to get there. I know we are not alone, there are lots of cattlemen and women across the country who are having problems getting to Denver for the big event this week, but …
State of the Union Talks Trade and Biofuels
President Obama made some folks in the ag industry happy with his State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday talking about the importance of both biofuels and free trade agreements. Corn farmers and representatives of the renewable fuels industry were especially pleased to hear the president say that America needs to “break our dependence on oil with biofuels.” “The success …
NCBA Sets Policy Priorities for Convention
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has set it’s 2011 policy priorities in preparation for the upcoming Cattle Industry Convention being held Feb. 2-5 in Denver. According to NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall, they identified five major priorities for the organization that will be discussed in great detail during the annual meeting – trade, transportation, environment, competition, …
Obama Signs Bill Giving Death Tax Relief
President Obama held a public signing ceremony for the tax bill passed by Congress this week that delivers early Christmas presents for everyone, giving farmers and ranchers good reason to be thankful this holiday season. Securing meaningful estate tax reform for farm and ranch families has been a top priority for the American Farm Bureau Federation. “We commend President Obama …
Senate Passes Tax Package With Death Tax Relief
By a vote of 81 to 19, the Senate has passed the $858 billion tax compromise worked out between President Obama and Senate Republicans that includes a key provision keeping the estate tax at levels acceptable to agricultural interests. The measure reduces the top rate of the estate tax, more appropriately known as the “death tax,” to 35 percent, increases …
New House Ag Committee Chair on GIPSA
The incoming Republican chairman of the House Agriculture Committee is very unhappy with the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) rule that he says will likely result in a “tremendously devastating” impact on the livestock sector. During the special live 200th episode of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen program last week, Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK) …
Lucas to Chair House Ag Committee
Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK) has been selected to chair the House Agriculture Committee in the 112th Congress. “It is an honor to continue in this leadership role of the Agriculture Committee where I have served since I was first elected to Congress,” Lucas said. “As a lifelong farmer from a diverse, agricultural state, I have lived the real world challenges …
Ag Groups Unite for Estate Tax Reform
Ten diverse agricultural organizations are conducting a press conference right now in Washington DC to urge Congress to act on estate tax reform during the lame-duck session. Scott Bennett (pictured), Virginia Tech University student and active participant in his family’s livestock operation, did a really nice job speaking on behalf of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association – noting that he …
Death Tax and the White House
It looks like the death tax is going to be really hard for Washington legislators to ignore. There are 31 ag groups making sure of it. They sent a letter to President Obama today “urging immediate, permanent and meaningful estate tax reform.” Anyone with a lick of common sense would know that if estate taxes are allowed to be reinstated …
Thanksgiving and Farmer Priorities
This week is the time to give thanks to America’s farmers and ranchers for producing the most affordable and abundant food supply in the world. If you’d like to help do that using your social media channels then please visit #foodthanks. In this week’s program I’m featuring a couple of interviews from Trade Talk at the NAFB convention. Here’s your …