The U.S. livestock industry is diverse and unique — and for years it has been without a common voice or strategy. Industry leaders are working to change that through a common strategy that focuses on these facts:
- Agriculture is not optional.
- America’s food chain is only as strong as our family farms and ranches.
- Our livestock industry is better together and must unify with one voice.
“We’re at a pivotal spot in our country right now,” says Eric Smith, a cattle producer from Reform, Ala. “We’re going to find that if we don’t have a resurgence of producers in this country in a better climate for profitability, then we’re going to have industry loss.”
Smith was one of the 40 industry leaders who was in Denver April 21-23 for the Common Ground Summit. He says the summit demonstrated the industry’s collective commitment to preserving America’s agricultural land for future generations while strengthening and expanding the livestock producers who rely on it to feed the world.
“We needed to get a room together of individuals who believe in the future of this business and have a real conversation about what the future of America’s livestock industry looks like,” says participant Jake Parnell, a livestock marketer from Sacramento, Calif. “I’ve never sat in a room with leaders and thinkers who were so thoughtful about why we were there. There was no self-interest, there was no self-promotion.”
A cross section of 40 individuals with extensive expertise from all industries of the cattle industry came together at the Common Ground Summit April 23-25 at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. It was a time for deep discussions, thoughtful consideration — and remembering cattle producers agree on a lot more than they don’t.
Common Ground Summit
A cross section of 40 individuals with extensive expertise from all industries of the cattle industry came together at the Common Ground Summit April 23-25 at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. It was a time for deep discussions, thoughtful consideration — and remembering cattle producers agree on a lot more than they don’t.
Common Ground Summit
A cross section of 40 individuals with extensive expertise from all industries of the cattle industry came together at the Common Ground Summit April 23-25 at the Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. It was a time for deep discussions, thoughtful consideration — and remembering cattle producers agree on a lot more than they don’t.
Common Ground Summit
Key priorities
As a result from the summit, the attendees agreed on five key priorities on which to focus and to stand united with one common voice as a beef industry. As a call to fellow producers, the group released this statement and strategies:
As dedicated stakeholders in the livestock industry, we call upon our fellow livestock producers and all of agriculture to join us and stand united. The time has come to prove that our industry can and will align to drive meaningful and lasting change, safeguarding the future of America’s agricultural sector, rural communities and our nation’s food independence.
We need your help in giving America’s livestock industry a common voice. Join us as we seek to:
1. Achieve and maintain ag-friendly tax policy.
Extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions that help agriculture beyond 2025, including:
- Preservation of federal transfer tax lifetime exemption amounts, indexed for inflation
- Retention of step-up in basis under § 1014
- Return to 100% bonus depreciation under § 168
- Continued expanded application of § 179
- Maintenance of the § 199A qualified business income deduction
- Increase the aggregate limit allowed under § 2032A to $30 million, indexed for inflation
2. Make risk management tools more effective.
- Increase the Livestock Risk Protection subsidy level
- Allow Livestock Risk Protection coverage to start the day price risk is assumed
- Create or improve mechanisms for industry input and oversight of risk management tools that will make them more attractive to producers
3. Improve access to labor.
- Remove the seasonality component from H-2 programs
- Create an optimized and efficient process for workers in good standing to return to the same employer year after year
- Redefine “agricultural employer” to expand its scope for purposes of H-2A programs to include more employers essential to agricultural production in the U.S.
4. Increase flexibility for livestock haulers.
- Exempt livestock haulers from Hours-of-Service rules
- Permanently exempt livestock haulers from the Electronic Logging Device mandate
- Support the state and federal adoption of increased load capacity limits
5. Create support for young and emerging livestock producers.
- Reform USDA programs to raise limits on guaranteed loan programs, streamline the lending process and expand eligibility criteria
- Create tax credits or incentives for leasing or selling land to, and providing capital to, younger or emerging livestock producers, including elimination of capital gains, reduced financing costs and access to loans
- Create front-loaded tax relief for buyers purchasing land for use in livestock production
- Establish programs and educational programming to cultivate interest in young people to pursue careers in livestock production.
Smith says it was remarkable how attendees from different regions and associations unanimously agreed on the summit’s key points and how important the collaborative approach was to tackling the issues.
“It’s a unified voice,” Smith says about the final list of strategies. “As we discussed topics, we would find problems and analyze the problem, and then we would draft a solution.
“The solutions are not easy and the people at that summit won’t be able to carry the message alone. As we look forward, we’ve got to have government intervention and help to put this in place. We need other people in agriculture, regardless of their association affiliation, to find a common spot they agree on and as an industry we need to push forward. The time is now.”
Next Steps
“It’s our job as the original group to take that momentum and start to include and encapsulate the entire industry and make some things happen,” Parnell says. “Our ultimate goal is to create a groundswell movement that unites producers, addresses common challenges and secures a sustainable future for the livestock industry.”
Parnell shares these steps to help keep the momentum going:
- Increase engagement and involvement and broaden the movement. He says the original group needs to encourage other producers to join the Common Ground Coalition recruiting others to become part of the grassroots movement. He adds that it is important to encourage participation across organizational boundaries and to fight for shared objectives beyond organizational politics.
- Create a unified voice among all agriculture. Parnell says it is important the industry develops a consistent message across all agricultural sectors and rallies around common industry issues. He also stresses it is important to present a unanimous approach when addressing lawmakers.
“I’m so passionate about this, and I believe the meeting is just the beginning,” Parnell summarizes. “It’s the beginning of what I consider a groundswell of a grassroots effort to get producers understanding the challenges from coast to coast and border to border are the same. And although we are profitable today in the livestock industry, we know what’s coming. Now is the time to make impactful change with a common voice.”
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