NCBA Looking at Various Issues to Tackle in 2025

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is looking at a variety of issues they would like to see Congress take care of this year. Rusty Halvorson has the story.

President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office this month and a new Congress is taking over in Washington, DC.

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Mark Eisele says there’s no shortage of problems his group would like to find solutions for in 2025.

“And we’re going to be working on transportation, we’re going to be working on animal disease and traceability, we’re going to be working on the checkoff and those markets. Transportation and hours of service and safety. A lot of the overreach and regulation.”

A lack of people willing to work on farms and ranches is another struggle Eisele would like to see addressed.

“We can’t get our H2A guestworker program to work properly. The vetting is so extreme, the parameters are so extreme. And yet, those folks are really good workers and most farms and ranches treat them like family. They have been long-term employees, and we’ve actually worked to help them. Sometimes they don’t want to become citizens, but we still help them and we know that’s good for them back home when they go.”

Eisele says there are shortages in many different segments of agriculture.

“Production, processing, transportation – and we have to address that. I think we’re going to see a shift in education, maybe a ramping up – I’m hoping – a ramping up of ‘vo-ag’ and ‘vo-tech’ to fill those vacancies.”

The new session of the U.S. Congress began Jan. 3^rd and Trump will be sworn in as President on January 20th.