Members 'Stampede' into Nation's Capitol to Discuss Cattle Producer Issues
US - More than five dozen R-CALF USA volunteers from 20 states traveled to the nation’s capitol for a three-day ‘Stampede’ to discuss issues important to the U.S. cattle industry with members of Congress, representatives of federal agencies, including Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, as well as Administration representatives, and others who have an interest in industry regulations.
21 February 2007
2 minute read
“Our members braved the cold and the Valentine’s Day blizzard to make sure that the concerns of independent cattle producers were represented on Capitol Hill,” said R-CALF USA Government Relations Coordinator Abra Belke. “Even as many government offices were closing due to the inclement weather, our members ‘cowboyed up’ and trudged through the storm to make sure that our issues were discussed with members of Congress, as well as high-level Administration officials.”
R-CALF USA Checkoff Committee Chair Jim Hanna said the Stampede gave members an excellent opportunity to meet with the decision-makers in Washington, D.C., so they would understand the organization’s position on reforming the Beef Checkoff Program to promote U.S.A. beef instead of generic beef products, and the need for more oversight and more information available to producers with regard to how Beef Checkoff dollars are spent.
“We had really good reception on the Checkoff reforms, especially with Secretary Johanns, who took a lot of notes and paid really close attention when we were talking,” Hanna said. “We didn’t receive any argument or disagreement about the changes that need to be made. A lot of the issues we take to Congress, we end up trying to defend and explain our position, but with the Checkoff survey results so strongly in our favor, USDA basically can’t argue with those. I think R-CALF can look forward to accomplishing a lot regarding the Beef Checkoff during the coming year.”
Other topics of concern R-CALF USA members discussed included moving up the implementation date of Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL), encouraging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to withdraw its proposed Rule 2 that deals with resuming imports of Canadian cattle over 30 months (OTM) of age, banning captive-supply and livestock ownership practices of meat packers, and correcting the Interstate Meat Inspection Act so smaller packers can ship their products across state lines. R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard said these are the core issues that affect the profitability of U.S. cattle producers, and Stampede participants did an outstanding job of elevating these issues for the new Congress.
Source: PA Farm News
