WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new focus on cattle may be apparent over the next couple of years, as the Congressional Beef Caucus has been reestablished.

 

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. (NCBA) and several bipartisan Congresspeople announced the caucus during a press conference March 29. “From trade to taxes, and from federal lands to thefarm bill, there are many issues that affect our ability to help provide the world’s safest and most abundant food supply,” said NCBA President Craig Uden.

 

“The Beef Caucus will help us highlight those issues on Capitol Hill so lawmakers know how those policies affect cattle producers back home in their districts.”

 

He said the beef industry is worth  more than $60 billion and impacts all 50 states, but the industry depends on policies and regulations made in Washington, D.C. The caucus will help cattle farmers preserve the quality of natural resources producing the best-tasting beef in the world, he said.

 

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said the caucus already has 35 Democrat and Republican members and more will join as the session continues.

 

“People send us here to find practical solutions to real problems we have, especially in agriculture,” he said. “We need to understand directly from you all, why beef and why agriculture is so important to our country.”

 

The caucus is designed to help educate lawmakers and help them make informed decisions about votes. He said he spoke to a representative from an urban area who didn’t understand why agriculture receives subsidies. Cuellar told the man food doesn’t magically appear on shelves. He said the U.S. is the largest producer of beef but the fourth-largest trader on the global market. Increasing trade can only be good for the cattle industry.

 

Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) said agriculture is a bipartisan issue in D.C. It impacts jobs, the economy and American values. “This caucus is about our heritage but it’s also about our future,” he said. “We want this caucus to remind Congress and the American people how important beef production is to the American economy.”

 

He said beef production is the largest segment of the American agriculture economy, impacting millions of businesses, farms and ranches. In Kansas alone, it results in about $90 billion in economic activity. Yoder said the caucus would work hard on the issues important to producers, from opening more markets to tax policy and regulations.

 

Jess Peterson with the U.S. Cattlemen’s Assoc. said the last Beef Caucus was about 10 years ago, after the 2005 outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE – also called “mad cow” disease). The focus at that time was to remind lawmakers meeting with representatives of foreign governments to talk about beef during the conversation.

 

The reminder was to amplify the message, not take over the meetings, Peterson stressed. At the time, many countries had banned U.S. beef imports. Returning to the Japanese market was a key point 10 years ago.

 

Peterson said this caucus is likely to focus on China and other Asian markets. The Chinese market has been closed to U.S. beef imports since the BSE outbreak in 2005. 

 

Late in 2016, its government announced it would open the markets up to U.S. beef again, after a review process.

 

The markets remain closed in part because the Chinese government wants guarantees about point-of-origin labeling, with complete traceability, he explained. Every time someone has a meeting scheduled with Chinese officials, he said they will be asked to talk to China about the beef imports.

 

He said the point is not to make beef independent of all agriculture. “We need to be careful. We can spotlight the role the beef industry plays, but we have to be careful to not put it off in the corner.”

 

Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said the country needs to see all members of Congress putting the country’s interest first.

 

“What would this country be without our food, fuel and fiber producers?” he asked. “We’re going to work hard to support cattle and the beef industry, specifically.”