NCBA President Tracy Bunner spoke before the Senate Ag Committee this week on issues affecting cattle industry.

Source: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Tracy Brunner testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee Thursday to give a review of the U.S. livestock sector’s marketplace opportunities and challenges. Below is a statement Brunner made after the hearing.

“We appreciate the Senate Agriculture Committee holding this hearing; we see many more opportunities in the cattle industry than challenges. The challenges we do face are the result of regulation, specifically rampant over-regulation from this administration.

“We need the Senate to focus on defunding the EPA’s ‘waters of the United States’ final rule and pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership which would give us the best access ever negotiated into the Japanese market. Japan is already our largest export market for U.S. beef, but as the International Trade Commission report confirmed, TPP would add nearly $1 billion in beef exports.

“What we do not need is the USDA dictating how we market cattle or manage risk in the cattle industry. The industry has developed tools and alternative marketing arrangements that benefit cattle producers and consumers. We’re not asking the Senate to intervene in our contracts; we’re asking the Senate to play their role in expanding market access and ensuring we are not regulated out of business.”

To read Brunner’s full testimony to the committee, click here.