AFBF, others urge farm bill passage

An analysis by American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) economists brings to light the consequences of Congress’ failure to pass a modernized farm bill. It provides a clearer picture of major ramifications of relying on the 2018 Farm Bill, including the likely loss of more family farms in the United States. That affects the country’s ability to produce the food, fuel and fiber America’s families rely upon.

The Market Intel highlights five specific effects of the failure to pass a new farm bill:

• a weakened farmer safety net;
• less future funding for sustainability efforts;
• a gap in coverage for dairy farmers;
• further erosion of U.S. leadership in public ag research as China takes the lead; and
• reduced overall economic and national security.

“If Congress fails to pass a new and improved farm bill, they will be responsible for leaving farmers in a lurch at a time when we’ve lost more than 140,000 family farms in just five years,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “When the current farm bill was drafted in 2018, the agricultural landscape was drastically different. Policy that predates a global pandemic, historic inflation, skyrocketing supply costs and geopolitical uncertainty just won’t cut it today or next year. Congress must not put farmers, ranchers and America’s families on the back burner.

“The House Agriculture Committee has done its part so far,” he continued. “It’s now time for the Senate Agriculture Committee to move this process forward.”

The current farm bill extension is set to expire in September.

In late July, 530 organizations, including AFBF, sent a letter (https://bit.ly/AFBF-letter) to Congress urging lawmakers to pass a bipartisan farm bill.

Read the full Market Intel analysis here: https://bit.ly/News-AFBF.

Extension is not long enough, says NCBA

On July 29, USDA extended the 60-day comment period for the latest proposed “Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets” rule by 15 days. That’s not enough according to Tanner Beymer, senior director of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

“Cattle markets are immensely complicated, and USDA is planning to make sweeping changes to those markets with only 75 days of public input,” Beymer said in a released statement. “While today’s extension is welcome, it is not nearly enough time to properly solicit public comment and review a rule that will have such an overarching impact on the cattle industry. The proposed rule is already a direct attack on producer profitability and now USDA is running down the clock to prevent meaningful input from cattle producers.”

House passes interior appropriations bill

On July 24, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 8998, the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2025. The passage earned praise from NCBA and the Public Lands Council (PLC).

“This interior appropriations bill protects the rights of public lands grazing permittees, reels in overreaching BLM (Bureau of Land Management) regulations, addresses Endangered Species Act challenges, defends local communities against Presidential land grabs under the Antiquities Act and recognizes the important role of ranchers — America’s original conservationists — in the stewardship of our nation’s public lands,” says PLC President and grazing permittee Mark Roeber.

Angus supports Ronald McDonald House chairities

National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) members rallied behind the mission of supporting families in need to participate in the 2024 Angus Impact project, which culminated at the National Junior Angus Show (NJAS) in Madison, Wis. Pop tabs, meals and gift cards were donated to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Madison.

NJAA members from 18 states collected 652 pounds of pop tabs, totaling $326, the single-largest donation to ever be made by one organization to the Madison charity.

“It was incredible to see how many people had turned up with so many pop tabs,” said Lauren Gilbert, vice chairman of the National Junior Angus Board (NJAB).

NJAB members also served 35 meals donated by Certified Angus Beef to residents.

“Food brings people together, and that’s huge, especially during times of need,” Gilbert said. “It was really awesome to be able to help prepare and serve a nice, healthy, nutritious and tasteful meal during a time that they really need it.”

July 2, during the NJAS, the Illinois Angus Auxiliary coordinated a 5K “Glow Run,” raising another $500 for the Ronald McDonald House. Thirty-five $10 Subway gift cards were also donated.

Angus Impact is the official community service program of the NJAA. The goal of the project is to help state junior associations “be the change” through acts of service.

To view results of the 2024 NJAS, including shows, contests, awards and scholarships, visit www.njas.info. Additional coverage is available on the NJAA Facebook page and in the September Angus Journal^®.

Funding available to forest landowners

Ag secretary Tom Vilsack on July 25 announced that the USDA’s Forest Service is making $190 million available to help private forest landowners adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change and retain working forestlands.

Of the total, $140 million is available to support state-endorsed cost-share programs for landowners. The remaining $50 million is available to programs that issue payments directly to landowners to adopt practices that increase carbon sequestration and storage of their forests.

Leister attends YCC

Jeremy Leister of Fairmont, Okla., represented the Angus breed at the 2024 Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC) hosted by NCBA May 30-June 6. Each year a young Angus breeder is chosen and sponsored by the Angus Foundation to attend the conference.

Leister was one of the 67 chosen to be a part of the 2024 YCC class. The group traveled through Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio and Washington, D.C., during a span of eight days. During their travels, the class was able to experience the vitality of beef production in different aspects of the country. 

Participants visited NCBA headquarters in Denver, Colo.; Five Rivers Feeders of Kersey, Colo.; Greeley Hat Works of Greeley, Colo.; Certified Angus Beef of Wooster, Ohio; Giant Eagle and Meijer Grocery Stores of Ohio; Tyson Foods of Sioux City, Iowa; and Empirical Foods of South Sioux City, Neb.

They ended their trip on Capitol Hill to discuss the issues and importance centered around the cattle and beef industries with representatives.

BIF recognizes annual award winners

Fenco Farms of Floral City, Fla., was named Commercial Producer of the Year by the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) at its annual symposium June 10-13 in Knoxville, Tenn.

Approximately 500 beef producers, academia and industry representatives attended the 56th annual event, a highlight of which is recognizing students, cattlemen and members for furthering the organization’s mission.

When the citrus market faced challenges, Fenco Farms expanded their cattle operation, revitalizing citrus land into pastureland. They now operate across multiple properties in central Florida and south Georgia.

Their herd includes 2,000+ commercial Brangus cows, 100 club calf cows and 300 registered Brangus cows. All animals are tracked individually and are DNA-profiled.

Feeder cattle are retained through the production chain to harvest. They collect and analyze data at each step. Their comprehensive data-driven approach has allowed them to make informed management decisions within their herd.

Other award winners, including Seedstock Producer of the Year, Continuing Service Award winners, Pioneer Award winners, scholarship winners and the Ambassador of the Year were detailed in the July 10 Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA “News & Notes” column available online (https://bit.ly/ABBx-News).