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USCA Brings Producer Voices and Priorities to Washington in 2025 DC Fly-In

WASHINGTON — The United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) brought cattle producers from across the country to the nation’s capital for its 2025 DC Fly-In, May 5-6, where focus was placed on trade, continued strength in the marketplace, animal ID, labeling, and domestic herd health.

“America’s cattle producers are facing unprecedented challenges — and opportunities. Through direct conversations in D.C., USCA members delivered a clear, unified message: We need policies that put producers first, protect the integrity of U.S. beef, and guarantee our standards are not compromised,” USCA President Justin Tupper said.

To strengthen the marketplace, USCA members urged reforms to the Packers and Stockyards Act to improve price discovery and encourage fair competition among cattle producers, calling on Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to demand shorter carcass price reporting times, and advocate for plant-level, rather than company-level, data. They also encouraged collaboration between AMS and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). In discussions with policymakers, USCA members shared support for enhanced whistleblower protections and bolstering the Cattle Contract Library to further address marketplace inequities.  Finally, in marketplace discussions, the group suggested regulations requiring packers to pick up cattle according to standardized timelines. In all conversations with AMS leadership and their competition team, USCA members emphasized the need to increase transparency and safeguard fair competition in the marketplace.

Another key point continually discussed was livestock identification. USCA has long advocated for science-based, voluntary solutions that maintain the nation’s robust animal disease traceability system and reaffirmed the importance of protecting U.S. herd health and food security but voiced their opposition to mandatory EID ear tags, citing concerns over speed of commerce, cost, data privacy, and federal supply limitations. USCA called on USDA to reverse their July 2024 Disease Traceability Framework and advocated for a return to producer-driven, market-based approaches — pointing to the success of the collaborative Cattle ID Working Group in 2013 as a blueprint for the path forward. 

In discussing disease traceability, obvious conversations lead to the recognition of continually emerging threats like the New World Screwworm issue in Mexico. USCA members urged the Department of Commerce and Customs and Border Protection to proactively place trade holds on beef imports from countries facing animal disease outbreaks, including an immediate halt on beef from Mexico.

Remaining a cornerstone of USCA policy, in each meeting, fly in participants discussed the importance of truth in labeling for not only beef but alternative proteins, calling for clear restrictions so that only beef born, raised, and harvested in the United States can carry the "Product of USA" label. At the same time, USCA advocated for trade policies that guarantee imported beef and cattle are held to the same rigorous health and safety standards as U.S. products, providing a level playing field for U.S cattle producers. 

“It can be challenging to find time to leave the ranch, but attending the USCA Fly-In was a priority for us as the conversations being held on the Hill can impact our bottom dollar at the end of the year,” USCA Director Samantha Ferrat of Montana said. “USCA’s policy priorities are formed by our producer members, ensuring they have our best interest in mind, and we were happy to share those with our nation’s policymakers. Keeping these lines of communications open and frequent will be key in moving our priorities forward.”

For more information about USCA’s policy priorities, visit www.uscattlemen.org.

Source: USCA press release