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GET ON YOUR HIGH TOPPED BOOTS,

HAY MAKER

Well-known member
NCBA Membership Leader Touts Organization At ICA Convention

By David Bowser

SAN ANTONIO — The former executive vice president of the California Cattlemen's Association told members of the Independent Cattlemen's Association late last month that the National Cattlemen's Beef Association has been working in the best interests of the cattle industry.

John Braly, who spent 12 years as executive vice president of California Cattlemen's Association and who is now vice president of Industry and Member Services for NCBA, outlined what the group is doing for the industry during the ICA convention here.

The mission of NCBA, he says, is simply to increase profit opportunities for cattle and beef producers by enhancing the business climate and building consumer demand.

"We're a cattlemen-controlled organization," Braly says, "but it is industry-inclusive."

The strength of the organization, he says, is based on relationships and systems and processes that the state affiliates have and that the state beef councils have on the checkoff side.

Braly says NCBA is guided by a 10-year plan and policy developed by the organization's members.

"We just completed the 10-year plan and adopted a new long-range plan," Braly says.

That plan and the NCBA's policies are open on their website, www.beefusa.org.

"The thrust of the organization is the policy that you bring forward, acknowledge and sign," Braly says. "We have broad-based input and support from 45 state affiliates and their network of local affiliates and local participation."

The important thing, he says, is to become involved.

"You do need to make contact with your policymakers on the local level," Braly says. "That's what makes any organization successful. Our politics are local. They start there. They end there."

Braly says the NCBA does not stop with simply drawing up policy statements. Their members take them to the nation's capital and explain them to lawmakers each spring.

"We get more than 600 cattle producers from across the nation for one week on Capitol Hill in their hats and wearing their boots, making them know that the cattle industry needs to be heard and they need to pass policies that support the industry," Braly says.

He says NCBA policy starts with the membership. It goes to committee and then to the board. It's presented to the membership at their annual convention and goes out on a ballot to members not at the convention.

"The policy committee is appointed by the state affiliates," Braly says.

Based on the number of members of NCBA, the affiliate can appoint its members to the policy committee, he says. The state affiliate also appoints members to the board of directors.

"That is who makes those decisions on policy," Braly says. "There is also a regional representative that sits on the executive committee. That regional policy representative is selected by the state affiliates participating in the regional caucus."

Braly says 63 percent of the board of directors of NCBA are cow-calf or stocker producers.

"More than a super-majority of cow-calf or stocker producers are on the board," Braly says. "They can pass any policy that they want to."

There are also, he says, two packer-processors who sit on the board, but there are 89 cow-calf producers.

"Policy is about very simple and straightforward processes," Braly says. "As a member of NCBA, you do not have to be appointed by your state affiliate to present policy. You can present policy at the appropriate committee. You cannot have a final vote on it at that point because your affiliate determines who represents you there, but you can present it and you can get engaged in the debate."

After it goes through the policy committee, he says, it goes to the board of directors. They take action on the policy and then all NCBA members present at the annual convention vote on all policy proposals that are brought up.

All new and all amended polices acted upon at the national convention are then mailed out so members at home can vote on them.

"It's very simple," Braly says. "It's very straightforward."

NCBA's policy book is about 185 pages thick, he says.

"We've got policies from tax and credit, agricultural policy, cattle health and well-being, environment, private property rights and much more," Braly says. "We cover all the issues."

The decisions are made by the members, he says.

Ten years ago, NCBA members passed an industry-wide long-range plan.

"It had two focus areas," Braly says. "Protect the business climate for the cattle industry and grow consumer demand."

They just approved a new long-term plan based on what the membership said they wanted, Braly says.

The one key area, and Braly says it continues to be a key area, is enhancing the business climate for the cattle industry.

He says NCBA fought for the elimination of the estate tax, or death tax. That move passed the U.S. House of Representatives, but the Senate did not pass it.

"We only had 57 votes," Braly says. "Senate rules require that you have to have a vote to end debate on a subject. That takes 60 votes."

The measure itself can pass with 50 votes, but to end debate, the Senate requires 60 votes.

"We have to go back to the drawing board again next year," Braly says, "and try and get permanent elimination."

In 2010, the estate tax will return to where it was before Congress established a 10-year phasedown period.

"We've got 'til 2010 to get permanent elimination of the death tax," Braly says.

Tax policy remains an important point to NCBA, he says.

"We didn't get reinstatement of the President's original tax package," Braly says. "That has two key components for our industry that I think are important. First is maintaining the 15 percent cap on capital gains. The other one is giving full deductibility for farm equipment purchases up to $100,000."

Those were in the tax package that passed a couple of months ago.

"Right now, we're working on additional disaster tax relief," Braly says.

Given the widespread drouth across much of the nation, he says this is an important measure.

Braly says the NCBA is also battling in Washington, D.C., over environmental concerns, particularly the Clean Water Act.

At the moment, he says rules are being promulgated concerning the Clean Water Act.

"There are a couple of components to the rule that we support," Braly says. "One, you don't need a permit for certain kinds of discharge if you have a nutrient management plan on your property and, secondly, if you have no discharge into the waters of the U.S."

But there are other parts of the rules with which NCBA disagrees.

"The problematic areas in nutrient management plans would be open for public review," Braly says. "So if you're an auction market, and you have some property you're putting your manure product on, you have to have a nutrient management plan, and you're going to have to open that for public review."

He says that would be like having an environmental impact statement.

"We don't want that," Braly says.

There is also concern over the Clean Air Act.

The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee says coarse particulate matter is not a health hazard and EPA should not and does not need to regulate that, he says.

"But they are moving forward in regulating coarse particulate matter," Braly says. "There is an exemption in the rule for agriculture,” he says, “but then EPA's charge is health regulation. Exemptions from EPA regulation do not have a history of holding up well in a court of law."

He says NCBA is working in opposition to having the Environmental Protection Agency regulate coarse particulate matter.

"That does not mean your local municipalities will not have authority," Braly says. "They do for regulating coarse particulate matter for nuisance issues locally."

He says NCBA is also fighting expansion of the superfund law.

"In a couple of cases, one in Texas and one in Oklahoma, agricultural entities have been tried under the superfund law," Braly says. "Superfund was designed for major toxic spills, not for agriculture."

There is proposed legislation now in the U.S. House of Representatives that NCBA is pushing forward to clarify the intent of superfund.

"It has 164 co-sponsors at this time," Braly says. "We hope to get it passed before the end of the session, even though this is a mid-term election year."

He says NCBA is also working on disaster relief.

"Last year we had hurricanes," Braly says. "This year, it looks like we're facing widespread drouth."

He says NCBA is working on a drouth relief package.

"We had additional funding for USDA to offer drouth assistance in the appropriations bill," Braly says. "That was stripped out because the cost of the bill was too high."

The chairman of the committee did not want to get in a fight with the President, Braly says, so NCBA is going back to the drawing board.

"We're working with the House," he says, "but our first step is going to be working with our state affiliates."

He says NCBA is working with USDA on wildfire assistance.

"One thing that stands out that we're really proud of," Braly says, "is producers standing up and helping producers. The National Cattlemen's Foundation Disaster Fund collected over $120,000 in the hurricane relief effort alone."

That has been given to the states based on their decision on who needs it most to help producers recover from the devastating hurricanes, he says.

"In addition," Braly says, "we had about 10 loads of supplies from fencing to water that was donated."

Braly says NCBA is also working on endangered species issues.

"We were successful in preventing the sage grouse from being listed," Braly says. "We were successful in helping ranchers in the Dakotas control prairie dog populations on their lands that neighbor public lands."

NCBA got an endangered species reform package passed in the House of Representatives, Braly says, but it does not appear that the Senate will pass it.

"The good news is we have a new Secretary of Interior," Braly says. "His name is Dirk Kempthorne. He's the past governor of Idaho. He is a super friend of the cattle industry."

Braly thinks that will become evident this summer.

"His first agenda item," Braly says, "and we hope to see this in the next couple of weeks, is new regulations that spell out clearly how the Fish and Wildlife Service is going to implement the Endangered Species Act. We think given his support for property rights and his penchant against the Endangered Species Act, that this could be even bigger than the reform bill we had in the House."

Braly says NCBA has also been active in dealing with animal rights groups. These groups, he says, have been pressuring the food service and retail sectors to adopt animal care guidelines.

The cattle industry, however, has taken the lead. Two years ago, producers in NCBA passed animal handling guidelines, he says.

"Because NCBA is industry-inclusive," Braly says, "we had a relationship with Applebee's, and when PETA knocked on their door and said, 'You're going to have animal care guidelines for every one of your suppliers,' they got scared. They didn't want to have to fight PETA. They didn't know what to do. They called us. We were able to take the animal care guidelines that our members put in place and say, 'This is how we handle our animals and this is what you should have in your care guidelines. Not any guidelines put together by PETA or any other group.'"

NCBA also took those guidelines to the National Council of Chain Restaurants and to the Food Marketing Institution.

Both groups adopted the guidelines.

Braly says no other livestock organization can mount effective actions on such a broad array of issues.
 

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