Happy Spring everyone! I hope everyone is getting through calving season without too much difficulty. I know I’ve been thankful for the winter we’ve had compared to last year. There seems to be plenty of moisture throughout the state without the bone chilling temperatures and 15-foot snowbanks in the valley bottoms.
It’s been a busy spring at the Nevada Cattlemen’s Association. I’ll start with some Congressional Appropriations that are important to the livestock industry. Recently, Congress was able to defeat the grasp of these short-term funding measures and pass a full fiscal year 2024 budget for several departments and agencies. Of note, the ever-important rider prohibiting an Endangered Species Act listing for any Greater Sage Grouse population was included in the funding package. There was an attempt to also include a rider to prohibit the Bureau of Land Management from implementing their proposed Conservation & Landscape Health Rule, also known as the conservation leasing rule, however this rider was not ultimately included.
The funding package also included $15 million for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at USDA to purchase electronic ear tags and related infrastructure needed for stakeholders to comply with the proposed animal disease traceability rule, should it be published. USDA estimates that it will take $26.1 million to transition from the currently required and approved metal tags to electronic tags. It’s important to note that under USDA’s 2013 traceability rule, sexually intact cattle 18 months or older that are moving interstate are required to have a readable ID tag. The proposed animal disease traceability rule would transition producers to electronic tags in an effort to better address disease outbreaks, particularly a potential foot and mouth disease outbreak in the U.S. NCA will continue to engage with our Congressional delegation on securing the necessary funding to prevent producers from being saddled with the increased costs associated with the proposed rule should it go into effect.
On a similar note, as part of ongoing trade talks within the Biden Administration, USDA recently put its stamp of approval on the importation of beef from Paraguay. Paraguay has a long and storied history with foot and mouth disease and the importation of beef from there would be very dangerous to the health of our domestic herd and consumers’ trust in our product. Recently, members of the Congress have introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution (a resolution of disapproval). If the resolution is passed by the House and Senate and signed by the President, or if Congress successfully overrides a presidential veto, the Paraguay beef importation rule cannot go into effect. I’d like to thank Senator Rosen and Senator Cortez-Masto for being two of the ten Senators who are sponsoring the effort to protect U.S. livestock.
Finally, NCA will be sending a contingent to Washington D.C. for the NCBA/PLC Annual Legislative Conference in mid-April. We intend to discuss animal disease traceability, wild horses, federal land designations and much more during the trip. This trip serves as a great opportunity for NCA to meet face to face with our Congressional representatives to discuss priority issues and for them to see and hear from real producers who are impacted every day by the decisions they make. The responsibility of carrying your message from the countryside to D.C. is not something that is taken lightly and NCA greatly appreciates the opportunity to represent you on the issues that matter.
Till next time.