US feed manufacturers look to Trump for 'regulatory revolution'

10-Nov-2016 - Last updated on 10-Nov-2016 at 09:14 GMT

US feed industry members highlighted reducing burdensome regulation, a focus on trade and open communication as priorities with the new administration.

Members of several feed and animal production industry organizations, including the American Feed and Industry Association (AFIA), American Soybean Association (ASA), National Beef Cattlemen’s Association (NBCA) and the National Dairy Producers Federation (NDPF), were quick to react to Donald Trump's election win.

They outlined the challenges they are hoping to see the new administration tackle. Several said they were hoping for regulatory reform or to be included in the national discussion on the future shape of the agricultural sector.

Regulatory revolution

The AFIA is looking to see the “regulatory revolution” promised during the campaign period, said Joel Newman, AFIA President and CEO.

It asked the president-elect "to hold true to his campaign promise and make addressing strict regulatory burdens a priority of this new administration.”

The AFIA has worked with several administrations and members of Congress to suggest balanced regulation, said Newman. But that has not always been the end result.

“Unfortunately, many of the regulations mandated recently have not been in the best interest of our industry or animal agriculture, many times inflicting excruciating costs on our members and consumers, without corresponding benefit,” he said. “AFIA looks forward to working with the new administration and congress to restore regulatory balance, which will maintain animal food safety at the forefront and also be practical for industry compliance.”

The National Milk Producers Union said that it is looking to the new administration to provide more options for dairy farmers.

“We must strengthen the safety net for dairy farmers here at home, grow markets for farm exports abroad, and ensure that pro-farmer policies are in place in areas including labor, environmental regulation and taxes,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF in a statement provided to us.

Members of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) said they are not yet sure what the outcome of the election will mean for their priorities moving forward.

But Tracy Brunner, NCBA president, said it "remains committed to expanding access to foreign markets, fighting burdensome federal regulations and ensuring the continued health of our herd and industry."

In the near term, it will continue to work for passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), he said. And he said it also wants to work with the administration to defund the US Environmental Agency’s Waters of the US (WOTUS) rule, which it alleged, violates the "fundamental tenets of administrative law and expanding jurisdiction well beyond the text and structure of the Clean Water Act (CWA)."

The group is also looking to “pass the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes language to mitigate the sage grouse stubble height requirements and other restrictions on grazing based on flawed science,” he said.

ASA members said they also want to take part in policy discussions with the incoming administration.

“We look forward to working with the new administration and congress to communicate and advance soybean farmer priorities,” said Ron Moore, ASA vice president.

The ASA supports his “pro-farmer” stance on the renewable fuel standard (RFS) and his stance on federal regulation reduction, said Moore.

TPP passage

However, the ASA and NBCA have called for passage of the TPP in the lame duck period prior to the new administration taking over. Trump has spoken previously about not taking part in the trade partnership.

The administrative handoff is not set to happen until late-January of 2017.

ASA said Wednesday that they would like to see Congress pass the TPP within that period to aid the soybean industry, and related industries, in accessing the global economy.

“We look forward as well to a constructive discussion on President-Elect Trump's stance on trade,” said Moore. “It is impossible to overstate the importance of trade – and specifically of the Chinese market – to American soybean farmers.”

“Similarly, our export markets in North America and Southeast Asia are extraordinarily important trading partners,” he said. “We export half of all soy grown in the US. One in four rows of beans goes to China, and Mexico is our second-largest market. We are eager to work together to illustrate how critical an aggressive trade agenda is for soybean farmers.”