Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, caught up with the vice president of governmental affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Ethan Lane, talking about top discussions for the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting that took place on July 24-26 in San Diego.
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Lane said he feels it is highly likely that there will be an extension for the 2023 Farm Bill.
“Given that appropriations is still very much front-burner, you know, 160 amendments are being debated this week on the ag appropriations bill,” Lane said.
There is plenty of work to be done by September 30 regarding the appropriations bill, Lane said, to avoid a government shutdown.
“It sounds like there is a move afoot to give a little bit of breathing room there, so they are not trying to have this Farm Bill conversation at the same time,” Lane said.
As the Farm Bill has many moving parts, Lane said those working on the bill continue to remind the public that a Farm Bill is often not completed on time.
“This year is not going to be any different in that regard, so I would expect to see some movement toward buying a little extra bandwidth and maybe loosening the belt a notch or two to make sure they get these programs right,” Lane said. “Chairman Thompson has been really good about continuously reminding folks that this is going to be a bipartisan and bicameral piece of legislation. That is no small feat in this congress.”
Priorities for the cattle industry in the 2023 Farm Bill, Lane said, begin with funding for the vaccine bank to ensure the resources are available to protect against an outbreak.
“We want to make sure those voluntary conservation programs that our producers use so heavily to ensure that we continue to be the highest quality beef in the world here in the U.S. with the lowest environmental footprint- we need to make sure that money stays in place,” Lane said.
The bottom line, Lane said, is ensuring the 2023 Farm Bill will be healthy and robust, including all of the resources needed for all the work USDA does without adding anything extra that isn’t necessary.
“That is part of it, too is, ensuring this doesn’t turn into a Christmas tree that everyone gets to hang their priorities on before it gets across the finish line,” Lane said.
Lane also talked about California’s Proposition 12 and the issues that the ruling may create for animal agriculture later on.
“It speaks to the playing field that could come back in the form of another proposition down the road,” Lane said.
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