Issues Forum: Legislative & Regulatory Outlook
Cattlemen provided update on legislative and regulatory outlook for 2005.

Jay Truitt, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Feb. 3, 2005) — Jay Truitt, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), led an issues forum on the legislative and regulatory actions that would be facing the beef industry this year. In the forum, which followed the opening general session of the 2005 Cattle Industry Annual Convention in San Antonio, Truit demonstrated where there might be opportunities for cattlemen to gain momentum and where strong defense will be needed.

Truitt began by listing the government personnel NCBA would be working on with the 109th Congress. He expressed optimism when mentioning Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, who was sworn in Jan. 21. Truitt then named the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate committees and subcommittees affecting elements of the beef industry and noted whether NCBA had worked with each before.

He went through a long list of the many issues that will be facing the beef industry in 2005, emphasizing the importance of food safety measures and reopening export markets. He stressed that even though opening the beef market to areas such as Panama and Bahrain may not seem important, such actions will “open up markets that result in other markets opening up to us.”

Truitt discussed a variety of environmental issues that would affect cattle producers and feeders, including wilderness and air quality legislation. He stressed a need to use available resources to protect the business climate. Food regulatory issues were also of concern, especially involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and meat recall rules, nutrition labeling, foreign inspection regulations, and modernizing food standards and ante and postmortem inspections.

Truitt encouraged members to contact NCBA with any concern unique to their situations or regions.


— by Brooke Byrd, assistant editor, Angus Productions Inc.
© Copyright 2005 Angus Productions Inc.

Editor’s Note: This article was written under contract or by staff of Angus Productions Inc. (API), which claims copyright to this article. It may not be published or distributed without the express permission of Angus Productions Inc. To request reprint permission and guidelines, contact Shauna Rose Hermel, editor, at (816) 383-5270 or shermel@angusjournal.com.

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