2021 has been a busy year for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association working for the nation’s one million cattle farmers and ranchers. Members of the NCBA policy team took some time to update reporters on wins and losses this year and where the industry stands going into 2022. Here are a few of the highlights: Ethan Lane, NCBA Vice President …
Cattle Contract Library Act Introduced in House
Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX) this week introduced the bipartisan Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021 to create a library for cattle contracts within the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service Department equipping cattle producers with market data to make informed decisions in negotiations with meatpackers. Currently, USDA maintains a pork contract library, and following significant volatility in the …
House Ag Committee Hearing on Livestock Industry
The House Agriculture Committee held a hearing Thursday to address the current state of the livestock industry, meat processing, production and supply. Among the witnesses testifying were Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President Todd Wilkinson of South Dakota, and François Léger of FPL Food, on behalf of the North American Meat …
USDA Adopts Market Transparency Policies Backed by NCBA
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association continues work toward and support policies that will help those working in all areas of the cattle industry. “There is no such thing as a silver bullet, one size fits all, policy solution to these issues. It’s going to have to be a multi-faceted broad approach where we kind of take little chunks out of …
NCBA Tackles Environmental Issues
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) continues to advocate on behalf of cattle producers when it comes to environmental policies regarding climate change and the nation’s waterways. “At the end of the day it’s opposing overburdensome regulation of the cattle industry, and supporting the science,” said Scott Yager, NCBA chief environmental counsel. “Making sure we have good common strategy and …
Taxing Concerns for Cattle Producers
One of the biggest concerns of cattle producers meeting last week at the Cattle Industry Convention is the potential negative impact imposing new transfer taxes would have on them. “Everybody’s talking about it being a death tax, but it actually occurs on gifting as well,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Vice President Todd Wilkinson of South Dakota. “If they …
Marty Smith Honored for Year as NCBA President
To say that Florida rancher Marty Smith had an unusual year as president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is an understatement. “It was damn tough,” said Smith during an interview at the Cattle Industry Convention last week in Nashville. Smith was honored for his service to NCBA during the annual Board of Directors meeting, and he had the opportunity …
Good News in CattleFax Outlook at #CattleCon21
The popular CattleFax Outlook Seminar, held as part of the 2021 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Nashville, had some positive news for producers last week. The beef cattle industry is bouncing back from the pandemic, and continued progress is expected in 2022. Beef prices are near record high, and consumer and wholesale beef demand are both at …
NCBA Announces 2021 Beef Quality Assurance Award Winners
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association announced the winners of its 2021 Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Awards, sponsored by Cargill, during the final general session of the 2021 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show this week in Nashville. The National BQA Awards annually recognize outstanding beef and dairy producers, marketers, and educators. Winners not only demonstrate high-quality animal care and …
Development of NCBA Sustainability Goals
The sustainability goals announced today by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) are the result of the efforts of a Sustainability Goals Task Force that was formed to evaluate the current state of U.S. beef cattle sustainability, determine which improvements are most critical and help share the story of progress. Three members of this working group joined NCBA Senior Director …