The U.S. House passed yet another short-term extension of the 2002 Farm Bill yesterday. A House-Senate conference committee working on the new Farm Bill faces a deadline tomorrow when the previous extension expires.
Most expect the U.S. Senate to follow suit by approving an extension. The Bush Administration has threatened to veto any short-term extension if substantial progress hasn’t been made in the conference committee. If movement on the legislation doesn’t meet the administration’s expectations, President Bush is considering a one-year extension of the 2002 Farm Bill.
KLA and NCBA continue to focus Farm Bill efforts on preserving cattle marketing options for producers. The Senate Farm Bill would ban packer ownership of cattle. If passed, this language would threaten alliances and producer-owned processing facilities that have helped ranchers and feeders capture more value for cattle and better address consumer demand.
Another Farm Bill initiative supported by KLA and NCBA would reduce the recordkeeping burden current mandatory country-of-origin labeling language places on producers. Compromise language would permit the use of normal business records, such as calving information, feed receipts, veterinary service documents and tax returns to verify an origin claim.