Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays talked with Executive Vice President Michael Kelsey of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association as the Summer Cattle Industry Business meeting was winding down in San Diego. Kelsey is pleased with the variety of policy and checkoff work that was accomplished this week. Listen to their conversation by clicking on the Listen Bar here:
The new policies passed by NCBA members direct the association to improve disaster relief and risk management programs, advocate for reduced capital gains tax, and oppose burdensome business registration and reporting requirements like the Corporate Transparency Act. Several existing policies were also renewed or amended.
Kelsey was pleased that cattle producers also discussed the implementation of USDA’s new animal disease traceability rule that will take effect in November.
The USDA rule moves the cattle business forward allowing more efficient and accurate means of tracing animal movement in the event of a disease outbreak, which is crucial as diseases like Foot-and-Mouth Disease continue to spread around the globe- USDA has made the decision to switch from visually readable to both visually and electronically readable tags for certain classes of cattle moving interstate.
USDA’s traceability rule updates a previous 2013 rule that requires intact cattle 18 months of age or older, rodeo and exhibition cattle, and dairy cattle moving interstate to have a visually readable ear tag. The new traceability rule simply switches the type of tag from visually readable to both electronically and visually readable. This new rule will take effect on Nov. 5, 2024.
In the Cattle Health Committee meeting- Kelsey was impressed by the presentation made by USDA’s Director of Traceability efforts Dr. Alex Turner- enough so that he says they will having him do a similar presentation via Zoom to their Board of Directors meeting that will be a part of the OCA Annual Convention July 19th.
Kelsey is also excited about the leadership that Oklahomans have shown here in San Diego- including Ruth Coffey who is serving as the President of the American National Cattlewomen, Cheryl DeVuyst as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and OCA Past President Charley Swanson who has been serving as Region IV Pac General.
