NCBA to focus on tri-legged sustainability stool
As cattle producers convened in Houston, Texas for the 29th Annual Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Trade Show, the organization’s executive committee met to discuss and approve policy priorities for 2022.
According to NCBA, the team placed great emphasis on “strengthening the economic, environmental and social sustainability of the cattle industry.”
“With the challenging year cattle producers have faced, NCBA is focused on strengthening our industry for the future,” says Minnesota native and NCBA President-elect Don Schiefelbein. “By highlighting economic, environmental and social sustainability, we are addressing the long-term needs of the cattle industry and advancing policies which will contribute to business success, economic growth and respect for our way of life.”
Focus outline
NCBA’s policy priorities in 2022 are to improve market leverage and opportunities; secure the future of the beef industry; boost the resiliency of the beef supply chain; and support commonsense 2023 Farm Bill priorities.
Under their goal of improving opportunities and leverage in the market, NCBA shares they seek to improve risk management tools available to producers, secure funding to reauthorize Livestock Mandatory Reporting and increase transparency and access to market data to make more informed market transactions.
Many of the goals which fall under securing the future of the beef industry are policy and tax related. Some examples include preserving tax code provisions which protect viable climates for agricultural businesses, ensuring accurate labels on plant-based meat alternatives, protecting private property rights against “potential overreach or restrictions under the 30×30 initiative,” building beef exports and advancing traceability without cost burdens on producers.
To boost the resiliency of the supply chain, NCBA plans to “advocate for bipartisan reforms to the H2-A visa program to address the shortage of skilled workers,” improve processing capacity, continue pushing for hours-of-service and electronic logging flexibility for livestock transporters and strengthen rural connectivity.
In regards to the 2023 Farm Bill, NCBA will seek the reauthorization of animal health provisions which appeared in the 2018 Farm Bill, as well as advocate for additional funding for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank to protect against foot and mouth disease.
Other farm bill provisions include expanding producer access to risk management and disaster relief programs, funding of programs which incentivize science-based natural resource management and defending against the addition of a livestock title.
Producer-based policy
Schiefelbein added, “By working to protect the business environment, increase market transparency and improving the strength of the supply chain, NCBA’s policy efforts will continue to enhance cattle and beef business sustainability in the near-term and for generations to come.”
Averi Hales is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
