Perspective

By Michael Kelsey

 

Summer is over, school has begun and I am ready for some football! However, before I jump headlong into the fall season, I need to give you a quick recap of a few items.

The NC Board of Directors met in Kearney in late August for a regular Board meeting. As is typical of all Board meetings this year, only one director was absent! Kudos to the NC Board for their tremendous commitment to serving you! The Board considered and discussed many different issues and activities, including groundwater monitoring, CAFO permitting deadlines, Regional Roundups, Interim Legislative Studies and the Beef Pit. Also, the Board endorsed Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture’s new 100 Beef Cow Ownership Advantage program after an excellent presentation by Paul Davis, Cow-Calf Council vice chairman.

Wow, what a great set of meetings! As many of you are aware, NC hosted 10 meetings across the state during July and August to discuss three very important issues – LB 677, COOL and the beef checkoff. Attendance and participation in these meetings was excellent! Special thanks to all who attended. To those who were unable to attend, don’t worry, opportunity abounds. NC is already looking at another series of meetings in different locations, possibly early next year.

LB 677 was top of mind for many meeting attendees. It’s crucial that you understand this legislation if your operation is classified as an Animal Feeding Operation (AFO). The meeting format provided an excellent opportunity to educate participants about how to determine the classification of their operations. Many excellent questions were offered and I am confident that all were answered well. It’s important for producers to remember that NC stands ready to help you with this issue. Producers can’t let this issue pass them by since the opportunity window will close next year. Please give NC a call if you have any questions!

The beef checkoff issue also generated a lot of comments and questions. NC does not have a position on increasing the checkoff, but wants to hear what producers have to say. Input ranged from questions about checkoff administration and strategies to suggestions for future programs. The most common questions and comments included: What is the procedure for changing the current program? Who decides how current dollars are spent and how would the “new” dollars be spent if the rate were increased? Is it possible to use checkoff dollars to promote only U.S. beef? Why don’t retailers pay? How many dollars are spent on advertising, food safety research, nutrition education, new product development, lobbying, lawsuits, etc.?

While we are working on a document that will summarize the most frequent questions with answers, it is important for producers to understand that checkoff funds cannot be utilized for lobbying of any fashion (Congress, Unicameral, USDA, etc.) nor can checkoff funds be utilized in lawsuits or campaigns. Special thanks to the Nebraska Beef Council for sending a representative to each meeting to answer permissible questions (those that the law allows them to answer) and ensuring that all presented information was accurate.

Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) was the third topic the meetings covered. The intent was to provide producers with information about what they should be prepared to do to comply with the law. COOL goes into effect Sept. 30, 2008. The House version of the 2007 Farm Bill contains improvements to COOL, specifically to simplify the documentation requirements for producers. It’s still important to note that documentation will be required and producers should be prepared to comply. The House version has approved a producer affidavit as one acceptable form of documentation. Should that remain in the bill and become law, NC will have an affidavit template available for members to use for documenting origin. NC will continue to monitor the progress of COOL as it moves through the Senate and Conference Committee to the President’s desk and then into the rule-making process at USDA. Y Michael Kelsey is NC’s executive vice president.