“As members of the agriculture industry, we strongly oppose language in the Highway Bill that prohibits the use of double deck trailers to transport horses. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation recently marked up The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Enhancement Act of 2011 (S.

“Numerous scientific reviews...have found significant fault with EPA’s dioxin risk assessment models and conclusions,” House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas, R-OK, said. “Yet, this administration continues to go down the wrong path, which could have far-reaching consequences for food production.

USDA’ Cattle Inventory Report came in with few surprises since the industry has continued to liquidate throughout severely drought-stricken areas. The report did show some early signs of expansion interest, but ranchers continue to remain cautious on reports that the drought may not be over.

Iowa’s House File 589, known as the “ag gag bill,” if passed would become the nation’s toughest legislation against animal rights activists who use what they call covert operations to take videos and photos of alleged animal cruelty. The bill would make it illegal to videotape at farms, ranches, and other animal operations while undercover.

Many producers in North Dakota and Montana will graze cows on dormant native range during the fall and early winter months. A sound supplementation program that meets the nutritional requirements of the cows is necessary to make these grazing programs work well.

The Supreme Court released its unanimous decision in favor of the National Meat Association (NMA) in NMA v. Harris last week, a case determining that the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) preempts a 2008 California law whose requirements differ from and add to federal law and regulations.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) criticized legislation introduced by Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-OR, that would seal an agreement made between HSUS and UEP, and codify the federally-mandated egg production practices the two groups agreed...

Congress passed the two-year tax package, known as the Reid- McConnell Tax Package, at the end of the 2010 session, which, in addition to preventing the estate tax from reverting to pre-2001 levels of a 55 percent tax with a $1 million exemption, the tax package addressed a variety of other expiring tax issues that would have affected U.

President Barack Obama plans to ask Congress for the authority to consolidate several federal agencies dealing with trade and business development, including the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), which negotiates agreements covering exports of beef, pork and poultry.

House Republicans returned from their winter break last Tuesday with a message for President Barack Obama: Stop delaying the Keystone XL pipeline. But by Wednesday, Obama had made his decision, 34 days before his final deadline, to reject the pipeline.