Daily News Update, Feb. 26, 2008

NCBA, TSCRA work together on policy resolutions

At the 2008 National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Reno, Nev., in early February, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) representatives pushed for a number of policy resolutions to be considered by NCBA for approval on a national level. Of those submitted, four resolutions were passed and a fifth was appointed as a directive to NCBA.

The directive concerns the beef checkoff program, which had received some resistance from other state affiliates. It directs NCBA to work towards raising the checkoff to $2, as TSCRA previously supported in its own resolution passed Sept. 2007.

The approved resolutions concerned fever tick eradication, immigration reform, the recovery credit system (RCS), and the "H2A Jobs" program. TSCRA will continue to work with NCBA on policies relevant to cattle producers on a local and national level.

Following are the policy resolutions and directive as passed by NCBA:

H2A Jobs Program Resolution

WHEREAS, NCBA continues to be vitally interested in meaningful Immigration Reform, and

WHEREAS, both S. 340 and H.R. 371 "The Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act of 2007" (Ag Jobs) contain amendments to the current H2A program which will streamline and make more efficient and workable the provisions of that program as they affect the farming, ranching, and cattle industry, including cow-calf producers, stocker operators, and agriculture practitioners, and

WHEREAS, the time for meaningful immigration reform is at hand and no other workable and politically palatable solutions have been proposed to resolve existing conflicts regarding immigrant labor within the United States,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NCBA urges passage of the "Ag Jobs" bill.

Recovery Credit System Resolution

WHEREAS,NCBA supports increased incentives and streamlined procedures for federal, state, local, and private efforts to conserve endangered and threatened species, including voluntary management agreements, and

WHEREAS, NCBA supports non-regulatory solutions, based on proactive species conservation partnerships that ease the burden of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on public and private land ranchers, and

WHEREAS, NCBA believes that recovery using voluntary incentives and, ultimately, delisting of species covered by the ESA should be the highest priority of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and

WHEREAS, Recovery Credit Systems have demonstrated substantial success in providing meaningful incentives to landowners and moving listed species toward recovery,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NCBA endorses the Recovery Credit Systems, such as the system administered by Texas A&M University and Texas Watershed Management Foundation in partnership with Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Wildlife Association, Texas Farm Bureau, Environmental Defense, Texas Nature Conservancy, Leon River Restoration Project, Department of the Army/Fort Hood, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and others.

Immigration Reform (2) Resolution

WHEREAS, the United States beef industry is challenged by a lack of interested and reliable U.S. workers and therefore must rely on immigrant workers for a significant portion of its labor force, and

WHEREAS, agricultural businesses desire to hire only documented, legal immigrants, and

WHEREAS, agricultural businesses are not equipped to verify the legitimacy of documents presented by potential employees,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NCBA supports meaningful immigration legislation reform which:

1) strengthens border security,

2) creates a non-seasonal, temporary worker program that ensures an adequate workforce, and

3) provides opportunities for current employees found to be in the U.S. illegally to apply for legal status, but not receive preferential treatment, and

4) instructs the Department of Homeland Security to work with cities, counties, and agriculture interests, including producer-members of this association, in the implementation of any fences or other barriers between the United States and Mexico, and

5) commits adequate time and appropriations by the United States Congress and the Department of Homeland Security to implement a workable, expeditious, and common sense approach to temporary visa applications, and

6) denies access to citizenship or temporary visa to any alien who has committed a felony while in the United States, or violated a court order for deportation while legally in the United States, and

7) allows any and all undocumented workers, regardless of their family status, (within a reasonable amount of time after the enactment of any reform legislation and the implementation of enforcement procedures and before applying for a guest worker visa) to conduct a "touchback" in this country, through a consulate of their home country and achieve temporary legal status whereby they can reside in the United States until they achieve full legal status or must return to their home country. But, any undocumented workers who do not touchback should be considered fugitives, and

8) deny Social Security benefits for any fiscal quarter where those individuals holding any visa have falsified their identification, and

9) institute a point system based on the background checks and merits of the applicant/migrant to allow applicants the opportunity to show that their presence in this country would be an asset, regardless of family ties, and

10) processes first those applications for citizenship filed prior to the implementation of any immigration reform legislation, after which all other applicants should be processed in an orderly fashion, and

11) designate that English as the official language of the United States is right and proper.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, NCBA will oppose tougher penalties for businesses unknowingly employing illegal workers until the federal government develops uniform, tamper-resistant documentation that will enable employers to easily verify the immigration status of prospective employees.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, NCBA supports legislation that reduces penalties for employers who have followed available guidelines for verifying legitimacy of documents presented by potential employees.

Fever Ticks Resolution
Part I—Coordination

WHEREAS, ticks enter the United States periodically from other countries and cause a threat to cattle and wildlife by possible disease transmission, and

WHEREAS, these diseases could cause great economic hardships to agriculture and inhibit foreign trade,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NCBA encourages USDA and all other agencies to work closely with foreign governments, with frequent interchanges of information and technicians between both countries, so that the prevention/eradication efforts and elimination from all animals being exported can be coordinated with the prevention/eradication program in the United States.

Part II—Research

WHEREAS, acaricides have been used successfully to eradicate cattle fever ticks from the United States, and

WHEREAS, a limited number of acaricides are still in use in order to prevent reinvasion of Cattle Fever Ticks and are used to eliminate cattle ticks found on cattle in the United States, and

WHEREAS, there are reports that Cattle Fever Ticks in Mexico have become resistant to many commonly used acaricides and recently acaracide resistant Cattle Fever Ticks have been found in Southern Texas,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NCBA urges that the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the Department of Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service take all necessary measures to prevent the introduction of ticks into the United States and that USDA Agricultural Research Service undertake accelerated research to determine the exact nature of the resistance and develop alternate materials, methods, and techniques to control resistant strains of cattle ticks.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, NCBA work in concert with the United States Animal Health Association and APHIS to enhance the surveillance program for the Cattle Fever Tick as well as an emergency response plan in the event ticks or tick borne disease is introduced into the U.S.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, NCBA acknowledges the research initiatives of the Knipling-Bushland Livestock Insect Research Laboratory and supports continued research in pesticide resistance, development of technology to control populations of Cattle Fever Ticks maintained and distributed by ungulate wildlife and development of alternative methods to reduce reliance on coumaphos as the only form of chemical control of specific vectors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, NCBA strongly supports the relocation and construction of new laboratory facilities to replace the World War II era buildings currently used.

Part III–Funding

WHEREAS, the National Cattle Fever Tick Eradication program was initiated in 1906 and was initially funded by Congress in 1907 as a cooperative federal/state/industry disease and pest eradication effort, and

WHEREAS, a permanent quarantine area was established along the Texas side of the Rio Grande River in 1938 to prevent re-establishment of fever ticks from Mexico in Texas, and

WHEREAS, Cattle Fever Ticks were eradicated from all 14 states that comprised the fever tick's historical range and were pushed across the Rio Grande River by 1943, and

WHEREAS, since 1943 the permanent Cattle Fever Tick Quarantine Area has been maintained by the cooperative efforts of the Texas Animal Health Commission and USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services, and

WHEREAS, the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program has been habitually under-staffed and under-funded, while the level of tick infestations is trending upward and tick incursions from Mexico are increasing, resulting in an historical high number of infested premises in 2005/2006, and

WHEREAS, the increasing level of acaracide resistant ticks in Mexico and the identification of some acaracide resistant ticks in Texas, and the increasing role of wildlife (especially white-tailed deer, elk, and nilgai) in the spread and maintenance of fever ticks in Texas are of great concern, and

WHEREAS, in 2005 and 2006, USDA, in consultation with stakeholders developed a National Strategic Plan for the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program for FY 2006-2011, which identifies goals and objectives for the program and budgetary needs for fulfillment of the strategic plan, and

WHEREAS, Cattle Fever Tick outbreaks in several South Texas counties during 2007 and continuing in 2008 has resulted in a significantly increased number of Cattle Fever Tick infested premises outside the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Quarantine Area (permanent Cattle Fever Tick quarantine area), resulting in a significant increase in the area of South Texas under Cattle Fever Tick quarantine and requiring over $13.3 million to cover the costs of the increase in human and fiscal resources needed to contain and eliminate the Cattle Fever Tick outbreak,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NCBA urges USDA and the Office of Management and Budget to immediately provide funding in the amount (over $13 million) that the USDA requested from the Commodity Credit Corporation to cover the costs associated with elimination of Cattle Fever Ticks from the outbreak area of South Texas,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, NCBA urges Congress to appropriate funding for the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program (Year 1 - $10, 700,000; Year 2 - $8,300,000; Year 3 - $8,200,000; Year 4 - $8,100,000; and Year 5 - $7, 100,000), and urges USDA to fully implement the provisions of the National Strategic Plan for the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program developed by USDA in 2006.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, NCBA urges Congress to provide to the Agriculture Research Service funding for research and development of new acaracides for fever tick control on wildlife hosts and on livestock, to identify mitigation strategies that could aid in control of fever ticks, to develop advanced methods for prevention and eradication of Cattle Fever Ticks, and to improve management of diseases related to Cattle Fever Ticks that are associated with wildlife and livestock.

Beef Checkoff Directive:

BE IT DIRECTED, NCBA staff and leadership place high priority in rapid implementation of the checkoff enhancements.

BE IT FURTHER DIRECTED, that the sense of the 2008 Cattle Industry Annual Meeting is that a $2.00 assessment rate would adequately fund the checkoff program.