Cattlemen: House-Passed Tax Bill "Step in the Right Direction"

Group Applauds Death-Tax Repeal, Vows to Keep Working on "Problematic" Interest Deductibility Provision

Craig Uden, president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and fourth-generation Nebraska cattle producer, today released the following statement in response to U.S. House approval of H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:

“House approval of this comprehensive tax-reform legislation is a step in the right direction, but we will continue to work hard to make sure that final legislation doesn’t include provisions that would create undue and unfair burdens for certain segments of our industry.

“Specifically, this bill would immediately double the death-tax exemption and put the tax on the path to extinction in five years. That’s a major victory for family ranchers and cattle producers. The bill also fully preserves the step-up in basis, allows businesses to immediately and fully expense the cost of new investments, increases Section 179 small-business expensing limits, and expands cash accounting. These are all victories for cattle producers.

“Unfortunately, the House-passed bill would also significantly limit the ability of some businesses from deducting their interest expenses. This could be a big problem for some members of the cattle-production business. We’ve worked closely with Members of Congress to address this issue, and we’ll continue to work tirelessly to fix this problematic provision as this legislation moves forward in the Senate and toward a House-Senate conference committee.”

Over the past two months, NCBA has executed a media campaign in support of tax reform provisions that would benefit cattle and beef producers. The campaign is centered at CattlemenForTaxReform.com, and the campaign’s videos have been viewed more than a million times on Facebook.

Walmart says its U.S. food business delivered the strongest comparable-store sales performance in almost six years

Walmart said Thursday its U.S. food business delivered the strongest comparable-store sales performance in almost six years, propelled by fresh meat, bakery and produce.Comparable-store sales climbed 2.7 percent overall in the third quarter, with traffic growth up 1.5 percent.The average ticket at Walmart’s U.S. stores rose 1.2 percent, helped by the accelerating growth in its food business.Fresh categories including meat also performed well in the company’s Sam’s Club unit and are an important driver of traffic, Walmart said.The retail giant also posted a 50 percent jump in e-commerce sales in the quarter.Walmart raised its earnings expectations for the full year, and its share price hit a new all-time high Thursday after it reported its results.

NWS forecast for December through February signals a typical La Nina winter is ahead

The National Weather Service's (NWS) forecast for December through February signals a typical La Nina winter is ahead. The forecast calls for below-normal temps across the Pacific Northwest into the Northern Plains, while above-normal temps are expected across the South. Additionally, above-normal precip is expected across the northern tier of states, including eastern Iowa into the eastern Corn Belt, while below-normal precip is expected across the South. The NWS's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) says the December through February outlook is "heavily influenced by ongoing La Nina conditions that are forecast to continue through late winter." It says the highest probability of above-normal temps is in the Southwest and Texas, while above-normal precip for the northern tier of states and below-normal precip for the southern tier of states is consistent with La Nina. "This footprint slowly decreases entering the core spring months before long-term trends become dominate during the warm season," it states.

Great Falls Slaughter Plant Public Hearing Cancelled

A public hearing scheduled for Dec. 7 to discuss a proposed multi-species slaughter plant in Great Falls, Mont., has been canceled, a spokesman for the project confirmed for Meatingplace. Friesen Foods is amending its initial special-use permit application, and will reschedule the meeting afterward, said Todd Hanson, managing partner of local project developer Norsman Consulting Group. As proposed, the Madison Food Park would employ as many as 3,000 people in what the company calls a state-of-the-art, robotically controlled, environmentally friendly, multi-species food processing plant for cattle, pigs and chickens and related further processing facilities for beef, pork and poultry. Friesen recently purchased more than 3,000 acres of undeveloped farmland just east of Great Falls. Cattle producers say the facility would help spare them the cost and inefficiency of having to truck cattle out of state to be slaughtered, but some local residents have concerns including what they say are potential environmental and health risks. Developers of the project, meanwhile, counter that the Madison Food Park project will invest in technology and infrastructure to address those types of concerns, including mitigating detectable, residual odors. They emphasize that the project will have a positive economic impact on the area. “The projected influx of workers, and their families, will have measurable economic impact on every aspect of the community, including existing and expanding business enterprises across the spectrum of manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, etc.,” Hanson said in a statement. 

Ross Alleges Special Interest, Like Agriculture, Making NAFTA Talks Harder

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pointed a finger at special interest groups, including those in agriculture, as reason for hiccups in the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation. Ross earlier this week said the U.S. will "continue to take a hard line" on its proposals as talks get under way in Mexico City. Speaking at an event Tuesday, Ross said the negotiating environment has only grown more complicated because of industries like agriculture that have voiced a greater level of concern over the direction the administration is taking. Specifically, Ross said: "As one special interest group, say agriculture, for example, gets nervous, they start screaming and yelling publicly." He says action from special interest groups “complicates the environment” and “makes the negotiations harder.” However, the administration has continually threatened to remove the U.S. from NAFTA, a move agriculture groups call an economic disaster.

Slight Majority of Americans Favor NAFTA

New findings from the Pew Research Center show 56 percent of Americans believe the North American Free Trade Agreement is good for the United States. Just one-third, 33 percent, of respondents to a Pew Research poll say the trade deal is bad for the United States. The study surveyed more than 1,500 adults at the end of October as President Donald Trump has raised questions about the fairness of the agreement. Relatively small shares of Americans say that NAFTA benefits Mexico or Canada more than the U.S. However, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say NAFTA benefits those two countries more than the U.S., and the partisan gap is especially wide when it comes to Mexico. Meanwhile, for agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture data points out that since NAFTA’s implementation in 1994, U.S. agricultural exports to Canada and Mexico have more than quadrupled

NFU: Tax Reform Plans Jeopardize the Farm Safety Net

The National Farmers Union warns the two tax bills being considered by Congress would jeopardize all funding for farm bill commodity safety net programs. A new Congressional Budget Office analysis of the two bills, being considered this week, says a $1.5 trillion deficit increase would need to be offset by eliminating all funding for vital farm programs. The analysis says those programs include the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs. Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says the bill could require 100 percent sequestration of all commodity program payments and other farm bill programs. He says the proposal asks farmers and ranchers to trade possible tax benefits for the elimination of farm safety net payments, calling that a “disastrous trade.”