8/02/2006

SD Stockgrowers: Farm Bill Should Provide for Profit not Subsidies

Rapid City – South Dakota Stockgrowers Association (SDSGA) President Rick Fox, Hermosa, S.D., testified before members of the House Agriculture Committee, to encourage them to use the 2007 Farm Bill as a means of building competitive market opportunities, not increasing dependence on ag subsidies.

“The SDSGA believes strongly in the need for a healthy and competitive cattle market, one that allows America’s good cattle producers to be profitable. We do not believe that government subsidies are a long-term solution to low markets, drought, disease or any other difficulty that cattle producers face. We acknowledge that there are a number of hardships in the cattle business, but a strong, vibrant cattle market allows cattle producers to take advantage of market highs and make preparations for the inevitable downturns in the market,” said Fox.

He added that the SDSGA supports the addition of a competition chapter to the Farm Bill, which should include the captive supply reform act. Stricter enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act and immediate implementation of mandatory country of origin labeling were also priorities.

“South Korea for example has their border closed to US beef because of co-mingling of Canadian beef, with no label to differentiate. The customer is always right. As an industry, it is our job to provide the product that the consumer wants to buy,” Fox said.

Fox went on to say the SDSGA urges immediate abandonment of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). “There are numerous tracking systems already in place across the country, including brand inspection programs in Western states. To force a mandatory animal identification program onto producers would be a severe infringement of constitutional rights, private property rights, and would burden the U.S. cattle industry with unjustified expense, creating a more severe imbalance in cost of production as we attempt to compete in the global marketplace with other beef producing nations.” He added, “Costly and burdensome tagging requirements will not stop foreign disease. Stricter border patrols and inspections will stop the importation of foreign disease. Implementation of the NAIS is, in effect, a weakening of our trade laws. Rather than adhering to our time-tested and proven policy of preventing disease by disallowing importation of beef from countries with certain diseases, USDA would rather try to manage disease after it is introduced. This is unfair to America’s food producers and even more unfair to America’s consumers.”

Fox encouraged the Congressmen and Congresswoman to amend the Endangered Species Act, which has been used in the past decade to force ranchers off federal grazing land and even off their own private deeded land in some cases.

Fox testified that domestic food production is a matter of national security. “The continued trend toward a more severe trade imbalance makes the U.S. more and more dependent on other countries, many of them undeveloped countries, for our food supply. While we believe that dependence on foreign oil has caused serious problems, depending on other countries to provide our most basic need – food – is absolutely hazardous to the American public. At any moment, political matters could create negative relations and a foreign country could deny shipments of food, taint food or dramatically raise food prices. We’re living with this problem due to our foreign energy dependence. Let’s prevent a similar but worse case involving food.”

According to Fox’s testimony, the SDSGA believes imported food should meet or exceed all standards met by US producers and processors. “Do not allow global food companies to jeopardize the health of the American public by importing cheap, un-inspected food that was grown under standards that would be illegal in this country.”

Fox said that the SDSGA supports interstate shipment of beef with state inspections. “State beef inspections that meet or exceed USDA standards should be sufficient to allow beef to be shipped nationwide.”

According to Fox, the SDSGA appreciates Congressmen Moran (R-Kans.), Congressman Goodlatte (R-Va.), Congressman Etheridge (D-N.C.), Congressman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Congresswoman Herseth (D-S.D.) for taking part in the July 30, 2006 hearing held at Wall High School in Wall, S.D. The Stockgrowers are particularly grateful to Congresswoman Herseth for helping to line up the meeting, and the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce Ag and Natural Resources Committee for requesting a hearing in Western South Dakota.