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Karina Jones is a real-life ranch wife in the Nebraska Sandhills, Field Director for R-CalfUSA and one of the most highly sought-after speakers in the cattle industry nationwide!
And now the NEW VOICE of Farm & Ranch Country, Karina Jones –
Hello everyone in farm and ranch country! Our nation’s capital has been buzzing with activity that affects farmers and ranchers, so we better get to the news.
According to a recent press release, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) introduced legislation to stop the Biden administration from lifting a ban on imports of sheep and goat products until accurate studies show the possibility of contamination or transmission of diseases have been completely eliminated.
In 2022, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented a final rule to remove BSE-related import restrictions on sheep and goats and their products. The Stop and Study Sheep and Goat Import Ban will stop this rule from taking effect and require updated, thorough research before exposing the sheep and goat industry, and ultimately U.S. consumers, to possible contaminations.
One has to speculate that this action is in response to the uproar that western states sheep producers have brought to Washington’s doorstep recently, citing that the American sheep industry has been decimated by imports, specifically from Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, once you comb through this bill it does little to address that situation as it would only ban sheep and sheep products from countries where bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) remains a risk. Therefore, this bill would not ban imports from Australia or New Zealand as neither of those countries are considered a BSE risk, still falling far short of the protections that American sheep producers are asking for.
As the House of Representatives continues to wrestle with the Appropriations bill, amendments are being considered to the omnibus legislation especially if they need any form of funding or perhaps are issues that lawmakers what defunded from the taxpayer money bag. Two such amendments were up for a roll call vote this week and unfortunately failed despite strong support from the countryside.
Representatives Victoria Spartz, R-IN, and Thomas Massie, R-KY, were leading an amendment to the 2024 agriculture appropriations bill which would prevent the U.S. Department of Agriculture from implementing checkoff programs. They spoke on the House floor in support of their amendment, calling out the lack of transparency and accountability in these programs, as well as the abuses of these funds by industry trade associations. House Ag Committee Chairman Thompson spoke in opposition to the amendment but indicated that the transparency issues around the checkoffs should be addressed in the farm bill, which may lead to an opportunity for the OFF Act to be considered in the upcoming farm bill.
Representative Harriet Hageman (R-WY) offered an amendment that would ban the USDA from using any funding to implement the proposed mandatory EID rule from earlier this year. Hageman expressed the gross overreach of the government trying to mandate the form of identification that ranchers would be forced to use. Representative Massie lit up the Twitter space over this issue in support. The amendment unfortunately failed.
Tune in next week as I bring you more ag news from our nation’s capital!
Karina ranches with her husband, Marty, and 4 children near Broken Bow, NE. She grew up in western NE, with roots also in southwest SD. The cattle industry and raising kids is her passion.
Tune in Fridays on The Hot Barn Report, where she deep dives into cattle industry issues and highlights industry reforms or listen to Ranch Raised with Karina Jones a slice of daily life on the Jones Ranch.
