The National Cattlemen?s Beef Association sets its 2018 policies with assistance from the Iowa Cattlemen?s Association and other state cattlemen?s associations.
Approximately 200 Iowa Cattlemen?s Association (ICA) members attended the National Cattlemen?s Beef Association (NCBA) Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. Members met to exchange ideas, gain new information and discuss policy.
JanLee Rowlett serves as government and regulatory affairs manager for ICA. Rowlett says ICA presented three policies, at all of which were adopted at the national level.
?One related to USDA quality grades,” Rowlett said. “A policy that would support the use of quality grade?s, like ?prime,? ?choice? and ?select? that the U.S. beef industry for many years, to be used exclusive in the beef industry. The others were a resolution and a directive related to alternative protein sources.?
Rowlett says the resolution reflects the cattlemen?s stance on ?fake meat.?
?We support the use of terms that have traditionally been used. The beef industry (wants) beef products (terms) to be used (when the product comes) only from traditionally raised beef products, livestock raised by farmers and ranchers like our cattlemen,? Rowlett said.
Rowlett says the directive will guide NCBA as it analyzes and addresses “fake meat.”
?Then a directive – asking NCBA to look into how these alternatively produced protein sources are manufactured and what their nutritional profile is. (We want) to get some more information about how those proteins might be used in the future and (what) that part of our industry looks like moving forward,? Rowlett said.
The National Cattlemen?s Beef Association also adopted policy regarding the 2018 Farm Bill, trade and market access, regulatory reform and antimicrobial use.
NCBA hopes to establish funding for a Foot and Mouth vaccine bank in the 2018 Farm Bill. The organization seeks to protect programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), as well as prevent market-disrupting policy such as Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). The regulatory reform policies focus on replacing the 2015 Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule, modernizing the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and finding a permanent solution to the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) mandate.
