CALF_News_April_May_2020

20 CALF News • April | May 2020 • www.calfnews.net • 2 0 2 0 C A T T L E I N D U S T R Y C O N V E N T I O N A N D T R A D E S H O W Sonny in San Antonio Nation's Beef Producers Welcome Sec. of Ag Sonny Perdue READY TO GET HIS HANDS ON A JUICY, TEXAS-SIZED BURGER, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue provided a big helping of pro-beef news on trade and other issues during February’s Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Trade Show in San Antonio. Perdue and other USDA officials made the trek to The Alamo City along with about 8,000 others with beef in their hearts. He and others discussed issues inWashington, D.C., the Beef Checkoff, animal health and the persistent message that ranches, feeders and farmers need to continually tell their stories. “We kind of gasped when the presi- dent [Donald Trump] said the TTP [Trans-Pacific Partnership] was bad.We wondered if he would validate that – and he has,” Perdue said, answering questions fromNCBA President Jennifer Houston. “It’s not just [trade deals with] Canada, Mexico, China and Japan, there are numerous trade deals out there.” Perdue noted that the outlook for 2020 includes challenges for producers. “There always will be challenges, but we have lived through them,” he said.“I’m bullish on agriculture in general. Ameri- can agriculture is a miracle due to basic and applied research.” While consumers sometimes com- plain about high food prices, Americans spend just about 6 percent of their disposable income on food, compared to 13 percent in France and much more in many other countries, Perdue said. U.S. livestock and food production is taking place without hurting the environment.“Beef ’s environmental footprint isn’t near as high as it used to be,” Perdue said.“We need to talk about it. We don’t have anything to be ashamed of. We have a social and moral responsi- bility to provide food for the world [with population growth expected to reach 9-10 billion people by 2050].” He assured producers that USDA will do all it can to make sure “fake meat” is identified as just that, noting that he was a beef man through and through.“I’ll take a big juicy beef burger any day of the week,” he uttered with a big grin.“I’m a carnivore and will continue to be a carnivore.” ELD delay, other D.C. doings “It will be harder to get things done in Washington this year [due to the Presi- dential campaign],” said Ethan Lane, NCBA vice president of government affairs, part of an NCBA team that pro- vided an update on association activities in the nation’s capital. “The next few months are important to get things done. Regulatory work needs to be finalized by May [before the heart of the campaign begins].” Lane said positive data that beef pro- duction has little impact on greenhouse gases is big in countering false claims by environmental activists that the beef industry and agriculture are hurting the planet. “We can go on the offensive against the Green New Deal,” he explained. “We’re at a point where we don’t have a choice on whether or not to get engaged [in environmental discussions]. We have to get engaged.” Allison Rivera, NCBA executive director of government affairs, gave pleasing information that there’s another year in delay of Electronic Logging Device (ELD) regulations for livestock haulers. Under proposed regulations, By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor LEFT: Sec. of Agriculture Sonny Perdue receives a warm welcome while relaying a message from President Donald Trump that the new trade deals should benefit agricultural producers as new markets open up. MIDDLE: Allison Rivera, NCBA executive director of government affairs. RIGHT: Ethan Lane, NCBA vice president of governmental affairs, says that with the 2020 presidential election, it will be more difficult to get things done on Capitol Hill this year.