More than 300 cattle producers left their mark on Washington, D.C. the middle of April, as ranchers from across the United States came to the nation's capitol for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association's (NCBA) annual Spring Conference and held one-on-one meetings with numerous members of Congress and government agencies. Their mission was to educate members of Congress and regulators concerning key legislative and regulatory priorities for the American cattle industry, and they succeeded.

"The Spring Conference is an amazing opportunity for producers to make our voices heard on Capitol Hill," said Iowa beef producer and NCBA President Wythe Willey. "We had a very successful and productive week, outlining our priorities to help create laws and regulations that generate a positive climate for beef and help continue the increase in beef demand. Recent months have brought tough economic times for the cattle market and negatively impacted producer profitability, but many of the actions we undertake in Washington will help improve the marketplace."

Producers from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and Virginia met with top government officials and members of Congress to discuss major policy issues, and were encouraged by what they heard. The agency meetings gave cattle producers an opportunity to hear what is happening in Washington, where industry regulations and legislation currently stand, and what is likely to happen in the future.

"It was especially productive to have these cattle producers here in Washington at a time when major issues that effect them are currently being debated in Congress, such as the Farm Bill," said Bryan Dierlam, manager of Agricultural Policy at NCBA. "We had a chance to lobby on issues such as conservation funding, funding for animal disease prevention, trade promotion authority, country-of-origin labeling and packer ownership."

Cattle producers urged legislators to oppose the Senate-passed Johnson amendment that would impose a prohibition on packers owning, feeding, or controlling livestock. Cattle producers also told lawmakers that permanent repeal of the death tax is a major priority in order to keep farms and ranches in the family from one generation to the next.

Several NCBA members met with EPA's Director of the Office of Science and Technology Geoff Grubbs, and with Jean Mari Peltier, counselor to the Administrator on Agriculture Policy. The meeting discussion focused on the proposed Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) regulations, and producers had a chance to express their concerns about the impact these proposed regulations could have on the cattle industry. NCBA has submitted extensive comments on the CAFO proposal.

Tom Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General of the United States for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, addressed convention attendees on Friday and expressed his desire to work with cattle producers to protect the environment and maintain open spaces.

NCBA members also attended a private meeting with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). NCBA asked the CFTC to investigate the impact a report of a suspected case of FMD had on the cattle market. CFTC issued an extensive report on cattle futures trading during March and April 2002, stated that no wrongdoing has yet been found, but stressed that its investigation continues.

"This conference lets Washington decision makers see the real people behind the issues," said Willey. "NCBA members know it is very important that lawmakers understand how their decisions will effect the nearly one million cattle farmers and ranchers across the U.S." ©