The U.S. House Agriculture Committee passed the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024 late last week. According to NCBA, this farm bill includes numerous priorities for cattle producers. This contrasts with the Senate version, which contains several provisions that would be harmful to livestock producers.
Key priorities in the House farm bill include increasing funding for the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, and National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank; strengthening resources for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that uses dogs to screen shipments, luggage and people coming into the U.S. to prevent the spread of pests and disease; expanding the Livestock Indemnity Program to cover 100% of the cost of an attack by a federally protected predator and allowing for supplemental payments for the loss of unborn calves; protecting voluntary conservation and eliminating government mandates, while also supporting programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program; directing the secretary of agriculture to review the cybersecurity, foreign dependence and supply chain risks to American agriculture; upping support for feral swine eradication efforts; and boosting local processing capacity by incorporating the A-PLUS Act and allowing livestock markets to invest in small meatpacking facilities.
This version of the farm bill is the result of House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson of Pennsylvania spending months seeking input from farmers and ranchers in every region of the country. NCBA members were involved in these conversations and had the opportunity to weigh in on farm bill priorities. NCBA supports the bill.