WASHINGTON, April 10 – A new coalition of farm and animal health organizations has a message for the leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees: Keep the livestock title in the 2012 Farm Bill.
For months, members of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) have been telling lawmakers that they don’t want to see a livestock title continued in future farm bills.
The 2008 Farm Bill contained a livestock title for the first time, and those producer groups were disheartened that provisions for Country-of-Origin-Labeling (COOL), a national animal ID system and proposed livestock marketing and ownership rules under the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) were included.
But now a coalition of farm and animal health organizations is pushing back, hoping to convince lawmakers to reconsider keeping the livestock title.
In a letter sent to the Chairs and Ranking members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees today, the groups called for “Congress to once again acknowledge the needs of this integral industry and its importance to the U.S. economy.” The letter was signed by the National Farmers Union, the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, the American Horse Council, the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, the National Assembly of State Animal Health Officials and the U.S. Animal Health Association.
The groups called for a livestock title that includes providions for livestock disaster programs and a variety of animal health related provisions, as well as programs that they would like to see included in the Research and Related matters title. There is no specific mention of COOL, animal ID or GIPSA.
For a copy of the letter, click:
http://www.agri-pulse.com/uploaded/LivestockTitleletter4_10_12.pdf
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