Agricultural News
Beef Industry Hangs in the Balance Over Election Results, NCBA Lobbyist Says
Mon, 05 Nov 2012 11:28:12 CST
The lead lobbyist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association was in San Antonio last week for the annual convention of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. Colin Woodall's return to Washington was delayed for a few days by Hurricane Sandy. While in Texas, Woodall got a chance to speak at length with many producers about how they see the future shaping up.
"The big topic is the election. Even down here in Texas where they've also been hit with the drought like everybody else in cattle country has, everybody was talking about that. People were talking about water. People were talking about feed prices. But the one thing that everybody starts the conversation with is, 'What's going to happen next week?' And I think that may be up in the air a little bit more now with this storm. There's a lot of key states, a lot of swing states here in the Northeast. There's a lot of states that have been hit with this particular storm. So, the whole issue of voter turnout, I think, is going to be really important.
"Pennsylvania is a great example of this. It's a key state in the presidential election. It's also a key state in who controls the U.S. Senate. And it's one of the states that's been hit really hard not only with the hurricane, but now the resulting snowfall in about the western two-thirds of the state. This could potentially be a game changer on a couple of levels."
Woodall says that almost everything--outside of the weather and markets themselves--which impacts the beef industry hinges on the outcome of the election.
"I would say that absolutely everything that impacts the industry hangs in the balance. Whether that is trade opportunities, whether that is tax policies, whether that is food safety policy-and especially things like EPA-all of that is really contingent upon who gains control of the White House and who gains control of the Senate."
Woodall says that gains which Republican candidates appeared to be making in the polls in the northeastern states in the last few weeks may be in jeopardy if voters can't get to the polls.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also 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.
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