Capitol Outreach, By Dale Sandlin

On a recent episode of “Yellowstone” (if you haven’t caught up, just skip ahead a couple of paragraphs), the President of the United States arrives in Montana while John Dutton, the new Governor of Montana, is back on the ranch gathering cattle for a branding. When Dutton is told that he needs to be in the capital to meet the President, his comment is, “No, I’m branding calves; if he wants to see me, he comes here.”

Wouldn’t it be great if it worked that way? Having the ability to have a politician come to your operation to discuss what is impacting you would be fantastic. Imagine being able to show them exactly what impact their vote on a critical piece of legislation would have; it could make the difference in whether that legislation becomes law. Unfortunately, those types of opportunities are limited. That is why we need GCA.

GCA works at both the state and federal levels to represent cattle producers in food safety, trade, taxes, liability protection, water issues, land rights, and animal health and well-being issues, among other concerns. I get the pleasure of working with our elected officials to find the best outcomes for our industry.

This month, the Georgia General Assembly will reconvene for this year’s legislative session, and GCA has identified four legislative priorities that we will be working on. The first of these is increased funding for UGA’s Animal and Dairy Science Department’s research efforts. UGA’s Animal and Dairy Science Department provides critical research and educational programming for cattle producers across our state. Over the years, significant deferred maintenance has created a situation where faculty and staff are having a difficult time keeping up with their colleagues’ research at other land-grant institutions. We are committed to helping to secure financial support for improvements on research farms, faculty support and operational costs within UGA Animal and Dairy Science, and those research facilities that impact cattle production and beef cattle development programs across the state.

GCA will also be working to secure additional funding for the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s meat inspection service. Cattle producers must go through a processing plant to bring their product to consumers. We have learned that the Georgia Department of Agriculture, which provides a state equivalent inspection agreement with USDA, is having a difficult time in both recruitment and retention of quality meat inspectors. Improving the salaries of these inspectors will help in both recruitment and retention of quality meat inspectors who often take jobs within the plants or take similar positions within the federal inspection service. The lack of available inspectors will greatly impact the cattle producers’ ability to secure processing slots and thereby reduce the amount of available beef for consumers.

GCA will also be supporting the Georgia Vet Med Association’s efforts to shift veterinarian certifications from the Secretary of State’s office to the Georgia Department of Agriculture. Delays in licensing have compromised veterinarians’ ability to renew their DEA licenses and order supplies from their vendors, which require active status on their licenses. This compromises the veterinarians’ ability to operate their practices and limits their ability to provide critical services to the cattle industry, as it could compromise animal health and well-being.

Lastly, GCA will be working with other agricultural groups to expand truck weights. Over the past few years, truck drivers have had an expansion of truck weights through Gov. Kemp’s executive action, which expanded the weight variance for ag goods and services. During this time, truck drivers have had an outstanding safety record with no impact on the roads. Now that Gov. Kemp’s executive action during COVID has come to an end, we have the opportunity to showcase this safety record, which could help to reduce the number of trucks on the road. Georgia’s weight limit is currently below that of surrounding states. We are seeking to expand the variance from 5 percent to 12.5 percent without additional axle requirements.

This legislative session will provide GCA with a golden opportunity to educate the new faces within the General Assembly on our industry. Many of these legislators don’t understand what we do and why we do it, nor how important our industry is to our state’s economy. While these new legislators may not ever come to our operations, it is vitally important that we go to them. I hope that you can join me at the Capitol to build these relationships and share first-hand your concerns. Be sure to make plans to join us for the Steak Biscuit Breakfast on “Crossover Day”; further details will be announced once the General Assembly sets their schedule. Until then, GCA will continue to work on your behalf to improve conditions for all our members’ operations.

CAPITOL OUTREACH

By Dale Sandlin