NCBA Shares Efforts on Farm Bill Items Remaining For Cattle Producers

NCBA: One Big Beautiful Bill Delivered for Cattle Industry, but Key Issues Remain

The One Big Beautiful Bill, passed earlier this year, delivered several significant wins for the U.S. cattle industry. However, as lawmakers look ahead, some traditional farm bill issues remain unresolved and could still impact cattle producers. We caught up with Ethan Lane of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to discuss what was included, what was left out, and what challenges remain on the policy front.

Lane noted that while other sectors of agriculture are still seeking support payments, the cattle industry is in a different phase of its economic cycle. “Still some challenges obviously with other parts of agriculture needing some support payments,” Lane said. “I mean obviously we’re in a different spot in our cycle for the cattle industry than row crop and some of those folks are.”

Even with many priorities addressed in the One Big Beautiful Bill, Lane pointed out that several outstanding issues continue to demand attention in Washington. One of the most significant is California’s Proposition 12 and potential fixes related to it. “There’s a lot of folks still on that I think in D.C. You have some some leftover issues like Prop 12, right, and the fix to Prop 12,” he said.

Lane also criticized pressure from activist groups that oppose modern animal agriculture. “You’ve got all the fake farmer animal rights groups, you know, in D.C. in their brand new cowboy hats,” he added. “So the the bad guys are out there definitely pushing the other direction on this.”

Despite these challenges, Lane emphasized that the cattle industry largely achieved what it needed from the legislation. “There’s a few things like that still out there that need to be buttoned up,” he said. “Certainly we want to make sure that there’s room to do that. We got most of what we needed in the Big Beautiful Bill.”

Attention is now turning to the rollout of conservation programs, where Lane sees the need for some technical adjustments. “As we see some of these conservation programs come online, you know, I think there’s a few little wrinkles that need to be tweaked here and there on CSP and some of those things just to make sure that the funding mechanisms match up with the authorization,” he explained.

Lane described these fixes as typical Washington process issues but stressed their importance. “That’s just block and tackle D.C. I mean swamp stuff, but it’s how you make sure that the producers get what they need out of these programs.”

Finally, Lane cautioned that timing is critical, especially with a midterm election cycle approaching. “I think the committees understand that’s needed and figuring out what the appetite is going to be between now and June for real policy to move because we are in a midterm election cycle,” he said. “So, you know, I always try to remind people it’s not November of next year, it’s June.”

For cattle producers, Lane’s message is clear: the One Big Beautiful Bill delivered major progress, but continued engagement will be essential to resolve remaining policy issues before legislative momentum slows.

Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.