COVER STORY
Electronic identification would help prevent another black swan event such as an FMD outbreak.
BIG TIME IN THE BIG EASY Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor
T he weather was a hot topic during late January’s winter blast that prevented some cattle producers from attending the annual Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in New Orleans. But with projections that the southwestern drought may finally dry up, many were hoping Mother Nature was finally acting in their favor. Cattle disease traceability was another crucial subject, as producers and feeders illustrated how another BSE incident, or worse, foot and mouth disease (FMD) could throttle the entire beef supply chain. Numerous National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) committee members and others also discussed a range of other issues and policies that impact ranches and feedyards back home. The annual Cattlemen’s College presented experts who outlined numerous methods of improving cattle well-being through various classes of animal health and nutritional products, equipment and management techniques. More orderly ways to market cattle were discussed, along with the many benefits of the Beef Checkoff. The ice storm prevented the genius of TV’s Yellowstone – Texan Taylor Sheridan – from taking the stage as the keynote for the convention’s opening general session. But he used Zoom to discuss the Yellowstone franchise and how he was able to buy and use the 6666s Ranch to film and depict a true working ranch, Hollywood antics of sex and violence, notwithstanding. While disappointed, thousands of Yellowstone fans in attendance seemed just as entertained when former New Orleans Saints Archie Manning pulled a quarterback sneak and took the stage to cap off the opening general session.
full CattleFax coverage on page 16).“This suggests improving drought conditions and more favorable growing seasons and healthier soils,” he said.“But considering that an El Niño can cause drought across northern states, there is no win-win for everyone.” Day added that the massive volcano that erupted in the South Pacific near Tonga in January 2022 might have thwarted an earlier end to La Niña last year. Unusual natural acts like that mean there is no guarantee that La Niña, El Niño or a weather-neutral pattern will With recent frets over the discovery of BSE in cattle in Brazil, there are added worries about being able to trace BSE- or FMD-infected cattle. New NCBA President Todd Wilkinson of De Smet, S.D., served as chairman of an NCBA Traceability Working Group in 2022. During the convention, the NCBA Cattle Health & Well-Being Committee adopted an Enhanced Animal Disease Traceability System (ADT). On the federal side, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) wants to amend animal disease traceability regulations and require electronic identification (EID) for certain classes of cattle that are crossing state lines. The USDA program calls for EID of sexually intact cattle and 18 months of age or older; all female dairy cattle of any age and male dairy animals born after March 11, 2013; cattle and bison of any age used for rodeo or recreational events; and cattle or bison of any age used for shows or exhibitions. A comment period for the proposal was scheduled to end in March. prevail, he said. Traceability
Meanwhile, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Jewel H. Bronaugh, Ph.D., joined Ethan Lane, NCBA vice president of legislative affairs, in discussing how USDA and NCBA can work together to improve marketing, sustainability and animal health. Disaster programs to help offset drought-reduced cow herds were also examined. Adios La Niña? Several thousand producers, feeders and other convention attendees soaked up the positive takes on drought relief. Don Day Jr., president and founder of DayWeather, Inc., said the three-year La Niña cycle that has parched pastures across the Southern Plains and beyond is forecast to finally yield to an El Niño. That’s due to weather-impacting signs that Pacific Ocean waters are finally warming along the Equator.
The NCBA working group supports EID measures that would include feeder cattle. It also supports U.S. CattleTrace, a single entity made up of beef producers and feeders designed to oversee the animal ID program. To protect producer confidentiality, data provided from tags would be limited to the date, time, GPS location and animal ID number. No names of producers, their production procedures or marketing programs would be available without their consent. Of course, the goal is to be able to swiftly identify cattle infected with a highly contagious, herd-threatening disease. It would help prevent another black swan event such as an FMD outbreak. During his NCBA presentation on ADT, Wilkinson pointed out the proximity of Australia to Indonesia, which is rampant with FMD. “Indonesia [a huge population center], presents a big test for Australian [cattle production],” he said.“For the U.S., it’s not necessarily cattle entering the country – it’s people. The southern border is extremely porous. We cannot control it. The risk is high and very real [that a person carrying FMD crosses into the U.S.]. It’s not a matter of if, this is a when.” Under the current USDA-APHIS FMD prevention program, if an animal is diagnosed with FMD, the complete cattle supply chain could stop for 72 hours or more. It could take two weeks or more to get FMD vaccines available from the North American Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank (NAFMDVB) or the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB). Export sales of U.S. beef would likely halt. And with exports
generating more than $500 in value per head of fed cattle
– it would be catastrophic. “NCBA is
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jewel Bronaugh, Ph.D.
committed to working with the USDA to ensure workable solutions are identified and ultimately implemented. Cattle producers can be confident that any finished
product will protect our
national livestock herd,” Wilkinson said. WOTUS, Farm Bill, Other Regulatory Actions Farm Bill hearings are starting in parts of the country. There’s hope a sound Farm Bill can be written by Congress in 2023. In his Farm Bill talks, Wilkinson said NCBA would work on securing the reauthorization of animal health provisions, expanding the accessibility and funding of risk management and disaster relief programs while protecting voluntary conservation programs. Lane welcomed Deputy Secretary Bronaugh to the third general session stage to outline USDA’s efforts to benefit beef producers. She also pointed out the need for a workable animal disease ID system and sustainability. She commended NCBA for its efforts to expand climate-responsible production
2022 NCBA President Don Schiefelbein
He made that projection at the convention’s Ag & Food Policy
programs by producers who have long been conscious of environmental issues. U.S. beef has had the lowest greenhouse gas environmental impact “of an industry in the world” since the 1990s, she said. She promoted the implementation of broadband improvements across rural America under the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Bronaugh also reaffirmed the role of USDA in opening new markets for U.S. beef exports and countering non-science- based trade barriers that hamper the sale of American beef worldwide. Not all is rosy between producers and the Biden administration. WOTUS, or Waters of the U.S., was first proposed CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
Committee meeting. Day said data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other sources indicate dry regions in the Southern Plains could see the break in the drought by early summer and a better chance for increased rainfall in mid-to- late summer and into the fall. A La Niña, caused by cooler Pacific waters, typically spawns U.S. drought conditions in the West and Southwest. It increases the chances for rainy weather in northern and eastern Midwest regions. “The mystery is in the history [of weather and climate],” Day said.“As the Pacific goes, so goes the weather. We have never seen a four-year La Niña.” Meteorologist Matt Makens also projected a potential end to La Niña during his CattleFax presentation (see the
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