02/22/2006

Dozens of Cattle Producers Participate In Historic Washington Stampede

(Billings, Mont.) – Scores of independent U.S. cattle producers from 22 states traveled to the nation’s capitol last week to participate in R-CALF USA’s Washington Stampede, a two-day outreach effort on Capitol Hill in which members advanced several issues important to both the domestic cattle industry and Rural America. Members discussed those topics with numerous Administration officials, more than 100 legislators, staff and others.

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns met with several R-CALF USA members, staff and leaders, as did several other U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials whose duties impact domestic cattle operations – namely USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the agency’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), as well as USDA’s Animal ID and Beef Checkoff Coordinators. R-CALF USA representatives also spent time with the administrator of USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), the chief agriculture negotiator at the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR’s) office, and highly placed officials in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

One item Stampede participants impressed upon Congress and the Administration is the need to quickly implement Mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (M-COOL) for beef and other commodities.

“USDA has come a long way in making seafood labeling workable for the wholesalers and retailers,” said R-CALF USA COOL Committee Chair Danni Beer, a South Dakota rancher. “Now, we need the same cooperation from USDA for the largest segment of agriculture – the cattle industry – to differentiate our product here in the United States.

“COOL is a simple, low-cost law that even the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted would cost ranchers very little if implemented correctly,” she commented.

International trade was another priority topic members addressed during the Washington Stampede, and R-CALF USA pointed out that the U.S. needs to rethink its trade policies so U.S. ranchers can start to benefit from free trade agreements (FTAs).

“Historically, the U.S. has been a global leader in agricultural trade, but we went from a $20 billion trade surplus a few years ago to a trade deficit of nearly $4.5 billion today – and $3.5 billion of that drop is from cattle and beef,” outlined R-CALF USA Region VII Director and Iowa Membership Chair Eric Nelson. “”We need to catch up to the global changes and rethink our trade policy to make U.S. cattle producers the winners.”

Competition, captive supply and other market concerns were also hot topics, according to R-CALF USA Marketing Committee Chair Randy Stevenson, of Wheatland, Wyo.

“Much was discussed on competition in light of USDA’s recent Inspector General report that criticized the agency’s handling of Packers and Stockyards Act obligations,” said Stevenson. “Also on the table was the amicus brief filed recently by R-CALF and 35 other cattle-producer organizations in support of the plaintiffs in the Pickett vs. Tyson case. We also talked about the recent collapse of the cattle market during high-demand times, and the continuing concentration of the U.S. packing industry.”

R-CALF USA President and Region V Director Chuck Kiker, of Beaumont, Texas, spoke with several folks on the Hill about reopening the United States’ Asian and Japanese beef export markets.

“Our greatest concern is being realized at this very moment, and that is policy by some groups that says you have to ‘give access to gain access’ – something the rest of the world is not following, and it’s turning the U.S. into a dumping ground for products other countries have banned,” he said. “Either we start getting trade policies harmonized, or U.S. cattle producers are headed for some tough times with the trade liberalizations being pursued in trade agreements today.”

The subject of government and other industry groups adopting obstructionist policies also came up for discussion several times, according to R-CALF USA International Trade Committee Chair Doug Zalesky, of Hesperus, Colo.

“We stressed that these kinds of actions by both the government and other industry groups prohibit the U.S. beef industry from meeting requests by our Japanese customers, and it’s costing the U.S. cattle industry billions of dollars,” said Zalesky. “The customer is king, and at the time Japan requested their imported beef to be tested for BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy), Japan itself was testing all of their cattle for the disease.

“I think even here in the U.S. we expect imported product to come in under the same production standards we operate under, so the Japanese had a reasonable request,” he said.

North Dakota veterinarian Richard Bowman chairs R-CALF USA’s Animal ID Committee, and noted that USDA’s proposed National Animal Identification System (NAIS) continues to be at the top of everyone’s mind.

“The NAIS needs to be flexible and should be done in cooperation with state animal-health departments around the country, which would ensure cooperation for Animal ID without the government having to mandate a program,” Bowman emphasized.

“It’s great that so many R-CALF members could take the time to come to D.C. and sit down with our elected officials to explain our concerns and things we can do to create more opportunities within the U.S. cattle industry,” said R-CALF USA Mississippi Membership Chair Joel Gill.

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America) represents thousands of U.S. cattle producers on domestic and international trade and marketing issues. R-CALF USA, a national, non-profit organization, is dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. R-CALF USA’s membership consists primarily of cow/calf operators, cattle backgrounders, and feedlot owners. Its members – over 18,000 strong – are located in 47 states, and the organization has over 60 local and state association affiliates, from both cattle and farm organizations. Various main street businesses are associate members of R-CALF USA. For more information, visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516.