(NOVEMBER 9, 2023) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a package of rules and orders that seek to increase competition in the livestock industry. The package establishes a Chief Competition Officer at USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). This position – which will be hired as a career, rather than a political, appointee – will help to elevate and …
Cowtown Countdown: Cattlemen and Women to Gather in Fort Worth
(NOVEMBER 6, 2023) – As you begin making plans for the holidays, be sure to mark your calendar for the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association’s (USCA) 16th Annual Meeting, which will be held December 1-2, 2023, at the Embassy Suites in downtown Fort Worth and made possible by support from Ag Risk Advisors and Better Fed Foods. Producers from across the U.S. …
Livestock Indemnity Program Updated to Reflect Current Market Conditions
(AUGUST 29, 2023) – On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that they will be updating the 2023 Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) payment rate for beef calves over 800 pounds will increase from $1244 per head to $1618, an increase of $374. The payment will apply retroactively to all qualifying losses since January 1, 2023. No action …
USCA Attends White House Roundtable on Competition
(JULY 14, 2023) – On Thursday, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) participated in a meeting hosted by the White House and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to discuss legislative competition priorities. USCA Executive Vice President Lia Biondo, who attended the convening, issued the following statement: “Today’s discussion marks continued progress on the Biden-Harris Action Plan for a fairer, more competitive producer marketplace. Since …
Missouri Members Organize Producer Meet-Up
(JUNE 29, 2023) – On June 26, U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) President Justin Tupper joined Missouri members David Mooney and Chris Black in discussing the current state of the U.S. cattle industry with Congressman Mark Alford (R-MO). Mooney and Black organized the meeting specifically to demonstrate the need for the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act, which would establish a minimum percent of …
Montana’s Leo McDonnell to Testify at Senate Hearing on Brazil
(JUNE 20, 2023) – On Thursday, U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) Director Emeritus Leo McDonell will testify on behalf of U.S. cattle producers at a Senate Finance Committee hearing examining cattle supply chains and deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. International trade is an outsized factor in the domestic cattle market. McDonnell, of Columbus, Montana, will urge legislators to investigate how production …
U.S. Cattle Producers to Discuss Beef Checkoff Program, Public Lands Rule in Reno
(JUNE 13, 2023) – The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) will meet in Reno, Nevada this July 10-11, 2023 at the Silver Legacy Casino Resort for its inaugural Summer Business Meeting. The USCA Board of Directors, Committee leaders, and other active association members will discuss organizational business and trending issues facing the U.S. cattle industry. Topics to be addressed include the Beef …
U.S. Cattle Producers Oppose Opening Borders to Paraguayan Beef
(MAY 30, 2023) – The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) wrote in strong opposition to a proposal by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) to allow the importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Paraguay. In its comments, USCA cited several reasons why it opposes the proposed rule, including the need to protect the health of …
Atypical BSE Case Detected in South Carolina
(MAY 19, 2023) – On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) announced that an aytpical case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a neurologic disease of cattle, has been found in a bovine animal that arrived at a slaughterhouse in South Carolina. The approximately five-year-old or older beef cow tested positive following routine surveillance protocols and the carcass was condemned …
U.S. Cattlemen’s Association Applauds Introduction of DRIVE Act
(MAY 4, 2023) – On Tuesday, Representative Josh Brecheen (R-OK), a fourth-generation rancher and former trucking company owner himself, introduced the Deregulating Restrictions on Interstate Vehicles and Eighteen Wheelers Act, or DRIVE Act. The bill would prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from “implementing any rule or regulation requiring vehicles over 26,000 pounds that are engaged in interstate commerce to be equipped with a …
U.S. Cattle Producers Reaffirm Safety, Transparency of Beef Supply Chain
(APRIL 19, 2023) – In response to efforts in the Missouri State Legislature to regulate products sold, distributed for use, or administered to a person that are designed with intent to alter a person’s genome, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) issues the following statement: “A viral tweet issued earlier this month called our attention to House Bill 1169, sponsored by …
MEMBER ALERT: Come see us at the Virginia Beef Expo!
(APRIL 12, 2023) – The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association will be at the Virginia Beef Expo this Thursday, April 13 and Friday, April 14 at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Stop by our booth at the trade show and visit with USCA Executive Vice President Lia Biondo! Visit the link below for more information on the event.