By MEGGIE I. FOSTER
Assistant Editor

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels recently signed legislation that helps add value to the Hoosier beef industry by providing the opportunity to apply a higher grade to state meat products, according to Indiana Beef Cattle Assoc. (ICBA) Executive Director Julia Wickard.

The legislation, signed into law by the governor on April 24, provides authority to the Indiana Board of Animal Health (BOAH), to create a volunteer program, where meat inspectors can learn to federally grade quality meat products.

“The IBCA heard from beef producers across the state that graded meat would benefit the industry,” said Wickard, adding that “graded meat” permits producers to add a niche to their business by shipping out of state or to specialty markets including upscale restaurants. “The industry is excited about today’s signing and will work closely with BOAH to move the implementation process forward.”

According to BOAH Director and State Veterinarian Bret Marsh, the implementation process may take six to 10 months until the quality grade is made available to producers. From this point, Marsh said, BOAH has the green light to move forward with a rule making process to generate language for the new, yet voluntary program.

“It will take us a while to get through the rule-making process and training our inspectors, but we’ll get there,” said Marsh, commenting that each selected inspector will endure a six-week training program. He added that BOAH will determine geographical points of interest needed for the grading process and USDA “training will follow in those areas.”

“We’re excited about providing some new opportunities for producers in the marketplace who haven’t be able to sell their products in some areas such as restaurants and casinos because it doesn’t have the quality (federal) grade. Our producers have been missing out on the local market for some time now.”

There is a fee associated with this program for producers who choose a federal grade, however, the fee offsets the cost of training state inspectors for the additional work, Wickard explained. The Indiana beef industry, along with other livestock groups, worked with BOAH and state legislators to enact the legislation that would create a new value-added market for Hoosier meat products in the state of Indiana. Marsh said that Kentucky and North Dakota have recently signed similar legislation.

Wickard said that Sen. Robert Jackman (R-Milroy) carried the voluntary-based proposal forward, noting that all committee members signed onto the legislation in the first hearing of the Senate Agriculture and Small Business Committee.

“This legislation is really about promoting Indiana beef, and it gives producers a new opportunity to market their product,” concluded Wickard.

Provisions for ISDA

In addition to language concerning a volunteer-based quality meat grade program, the legislation also included some technical corrections for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA).
ISDA, signed into law in 2005, was originally cast as the Department of Agriculture, the new language changed the agency’s name officially to the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. “The primary change for us is that it clarifies our name and our role as a regulatory ombudsman working to help connect government agencies to local and state ag economic development groups and it changes our role as a key driver in promoting agriculture in economic development in part with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation,” said Ken Klemme, who serves as ISDA’s Deputy Director.

Other changes for ISDA include a number of provisions that predate the creation of the department for programs that are no longer active under the current administration, Klemme added.

“Prior to session, ISDA thoroughly reviewed the state statue, what was working and what was out of line,” he explained. “We wanted to make sure our words were consistent with the legislation. This is something all agencies do, review statues and keep them current.”