Cattle Raisers adopt new policy positions at summer meeting

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) concluded their annual summer meeting in Galveston on Saturday. The meeting ran from Thursday, June 15 to Saturday, June 17, and offered members an opportunity to combine family and fellowship with important work for the association.
In additional to numerous meetings to take up association business, attendees had the opportunity to tour the Port of Galveston, which opened in 1825 and is one of the busiest ports in the country, with an economic impact of $2.3 billion, annually. International trade is critically important to Texas beef producers, making ports like the one in Galveston vital. Attendees also enjoyed a visit to the Bryan Museum, which houses one of the world’s largest collections of historical artifacts, documents and artworks pertaining to Texas and the American West.
TSCRA maintains six policy committees that also convened during the summer meeting. The groups are led and comprised entirely of volunteer members that develop policies to guide TSCRA’s involvement on state and federal issues that impact Texas cattle raisers. The committee meetings in Galveston resulted in several new policies that were later adopted by the full board of directors, and also played host to a myriad of influential speakers who updated members on current issues.
Highlights included the Law Enforcement Committee who hosted speakers from the McGinnis Lochridge Law Firm and Trumbull Unmanned Aircraft on the legal issues involved with unmanned aerial vehicles and drone applications in ranching. The presentation included a live outdoor demonstration of drone capabilities.
The Property Rights and Tax Committee hosted San Antonio attorney Arthur Uhl and Colin Woodall, the senior vice president of government affairs at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Uhl and Woodall discussed the prospects for federal tax reform and how ranchers could prepare. The committee also adopted a new policy to support the continuation of Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, which allows a tax-free exchange of real estate held for trade, investment or business.
The Marketing and Transportation Committee discussed recent international trade activities with Bruce Schmoll, chairman or the U.S. Meat Export Federation and heard from representatives of the Unites States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service on USDA market reporting at Texas livestock markets. They adopted a new policy to support the protection of the integrity of agricultural futures markets, encourage regular review of contract specifications and support efforts to limit market volatility.
For more information on TSCRA membership, events or policy, visit tscra.org.