Cattlemen's Capitol Concerns: Farm bill passes via veto override

TSCRA Daily News Update, June 20, 2008

Farm bill passes via veto override

On June 18, both houses of Congress voted to override President Bush's veto of the farm bill. The Senate overrode the veto by a vote of 80 -14. Earlier in the day, the House voted to override by a vote of 317 – 109.

A clerical error omitting the Trade Title from the farm bill that was passed last month necessitated full re-passage of the bill, followed by another veto and override vote.

The override was the final step in completing the 2008 farm bill, allowing the rulemaking process to begin for the newly enacted provisions of the legislation.

Overall, NCBA is pleased with the final legislation, as it includes several positive provisions for the cattle industry.

These include clarification and simplification of livestock record-keeping requirements for mandatory Country-of-Origin Labeling (COOL), which is set to take effect this fall. The bill also moves the grandfather date for domestic livestock under the COOL law from Jan. 1, 2008, to July 15, 2008.

The Conservation Title provides additional funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) - conservation programs that have benefited many cattle operations, as well as the general public.

Cattlemen also support a provision of the farm bill that allows for meat processed at state-inspected plants to be shipped to customers across state lines – a practice currently permitted only for federally inspected facilities. This will allow many small processing plants the opportunity to grow their business presence, and could increase local marketing options for cattle producers.

NCBA also applauds the inclusion of a permanent ag disaster aid program. Under this program, farmers and ranchers who purchase Non-insured Agricultural Program (NAP) coverage could be eligible to receive compensation for extreme forage or livestock losses resulting from disasters such as drought, wildfires and floods.

Also, the new farm bill does not place any new restrictions on livestock producers in the marketing or promotion of their cattle, or place restrictions on ownership of cattle that could reduce the number of buyers in the marketplace.

Provisions of the farm bill that NCBA considers negative include a two-year extension of the ethanol import tariff, payment caps on individual EQIP projects, and income caps for certain producers that have significant non-farm income. These setbacks, however, do not offset the many positive aspects of the bill.