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Beef Buzz News

Ag Exemption For ELD Rule Expires Sept. 30 And NCBA's Allison Rivera Explains How They Are Working To Extend Exemption

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 09:10:54 CDT

Enforcement of the Electronic Logging Devices (ELD's) rule for trucks has been worrisome for agriculture since its inception during the Obama administration. Fortunately, certain segments of agriculture have been temporarily exempted from the rule but that could soon expire.

Allison Rivera, executive director of government affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, recently provided an update during an interview with Radio Oklahoma ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays.

The message we continue to push is we need flexibility in hauling livestock in order to make sure we can put products on the grocery shelves, Rivera said.

She said NCBA continues to push for the ELD delay as Congress works on the budget appropriations process.

Rivera said they have been successful in delaying full implementation of the ELD's for livestock haulers until Sept. 30.

Our current ELD delay ends Sept. 30 so we will need to have some form of the budget in place by then, Rivera said.

Today, anyone hauling livestock or livestock feed is exempt from hours of service.

According to the NCBA policy, here is why the ELD delay is important:

The ELD enforcement date and existing hours of service (HOS) regulations pose significant consequences for the livestock industry. Current federal law limits on-duty time to 14 hours, with a maximum drive time of 11 consecutive hours. The driver must then rest for 10 consecutive hours before returning to duty. For the great majority of the trips made by our livestock haulers, this is simply not enough drive time to accommodate the realities of hauling live animals across the country.

Research also demonstrates that repeated loading and unloading of animals creates stress, harming the livestock as well as endangering the hauler.

The exemption allows anyone hauling agricultural commodities to be exempt from Hours of Service rules until they are outside of the 150-air mile radius (172 road miles) of their pick-up point. NCBA hopes to secure the same exemption for the back end of agricultural commodity hauls to provide further flexibility during the unloading period.

Ag groups are working with Congress to get something on the books, perhaps through an infrastructure funding bill.

The good news is there is a lot of support to add in the 150-air mile exemption and that's been our biggest push, Rivera said.

Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear more of Ron's interview with Allison Rivera.

The Beef buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

   
   

Ron Hays Beef Buzzes With Allison Rivera right-click to download mp3

 

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