STEP #1 – Locate your local FSA service center
USDA service centers are open for business by phone appointment only. FSA is also working with producers by phone, email, mail and fax.

The following is a status update on TCFA events in light of concerns surrounding COVID-19. Please know that the health and safety of participants is our number one priority. 

This list is subject to change as we learn more.

Canceled
TCFA Fed Beef Challenge - Originally scheduled for April 8
TCFA Feedyard Tech, Spring Semester - Originally scheduled for April 14-16 and 21-23
TCFA Spring Safety Seminar 
TCFA Feedyard Camp - Originally scheduled for June 23-26

On Schedule
TCFA Junior Fed Beef Challenge - Contest day July 24
TCFA Convention - October 4-10, Grapevine, Texas

Ongoing efforts to keep you informed on news surrounding the beef industry and COVID-19.
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May 13, 2020

• PPP clarification on economic need certification: for borrowers with loans less than $2 million - Today the SBA issued an updated FAQ document that extends an automatic safe harbor to borrowers receiving PPP loans with an original principal amount of less than $2 million. Question 46 specifically addresses this issue. According to SBA, these borrowers “will be deemed to have made the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request in good faith.”
• For borrowers with loans in excess of $2 million - While we realize most agricultural borrowers acted in good faith, it is important to be aware that tomorrow, May 14, is the deadline for PPP borrowers to return funds if they received loans in excess of $2 million and did have access to other sources of capital. It is also important to note that these borrowers will be subject to a compliance review by the SBA. If SBA determines in the course of its review that a borrower lacked an adequate basis for the required certification concerning the necessity of the loan request, SBA will seek repayment of the outstanding PPP loan balance and will inform the lender that the borrower is not eligible for loan forgiveness.

 

• Producers can take step now for CFAP applications. We are still waiting for USDA to release application details for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). In the meantime, FSA distributed an e-bulletin today with steps producers can take now to prepare for the application period.
• To apply for the program, you will need to call the Farm Service Agency (FSA) county office to schedule an appointment. USDA service centers are open for business by phone appointment only. Your local FSA staff will work with you to apply for the program, and through forms asking for this type of information:
  • Contact information
  • Personal, including your Tax Identification Number
  • Farming operating structure
  • Adjusted Gross Income to ensure eligibility
  • Direct deposit to enable payment
• If you are an existing customer, this information is likely on file at your local USDA Service Center. Additional information and details on CFAP will be posted here: farmers.gov/CFAP
• As a reminder, USDA, AMS and FSA will host a webinar Thursday, May 14, at 12:00 p.m. CDT for producers interested in applying for direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). The webinar will provide information about the application process and required documentation prior to official signup date which has not yet been announced. Producers who are new to participating in FSA programs are encouraged to join the webinar. Please register in advance here.
  
  
• A bipartisan bill introduced Tuesday by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Steve Daines, (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) would require beef packing plants who slaughter more than 125,000 head of cattle a year to purchase at least 50% of their weekly volume on the cash market. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), lead author of the bill, has penned various iterations of this bill over the last twenty years.
  • As noted in a letter to Congress on the issue, TCFA cannot support a government mandate. A one-size-fits-all mandate completely overlooks the various supply/demand situations in the distinct cattle feeding regions across the nation. A study completed by Dr. Stephen Koontz, Colorado State University, provides recommendations for minimum levels of negotiated trade for each of the major cattle feeding regions. For Texas and Oklahoma, the recommended level of negotiated trade is 6-13% (on average) for significant price discovery. In lieu of government intervention, TCFA members are actively working to increase price discovery through more negotiated trade and achieve those recommended levels with free-market alternatives that are effective, flexible and cause less undo economic harm to both cow-calf producers and feeders.

10,000 pounds of ground beef. 10,000 pounds of potatoes. 4,700 gallons of milk. 2,000 dozen eggs. 2,000 pounds of cheese. The City of Amarillo, High Plains Food Bank and Hillside Christian Church joined forces with local agriculture producers last week to provide these commodities to families in need. 
 
Amidst the economic and social challenges our communities face due to COVID-19, those in agriculture remain committed to giving back. Why? They care about feeding people. And when there is a need, they find a way to help. This commitment along with community volunteers and local hunger initiatives; the High Plains Food Bank Pop-Up Pantry was able to serve 2,000 families in the Amarillo area. 
 
“When the agriculture community recognizes a need, they find a way to respond,” said Wayne Craig, executive director of Cactus Cares. “Each of our industries has a commitment to serve our community, and this is just one way we can reach out and help our neighbors.” 
 
According to the HPFB, requests for food assistance increased nearly 20-fold throughout the Panhandle network since mid-March. In addition, HPFB’s distribution has increased 34% since March, and in April distributed over 845,000 pounds of food, the highest amount for that month in the organization’s history. 
 
“The High Plains is rich with agriculture production,” said Zack Wilson, executive director of the High Plains Food Bank. “We’re thankful to team up with our local farmers and ranchers as well as Hillside Christian Church to facilitate a drive-thru food pantry that will help fill the gap for families who may need a little extra to get them through this tough time.” 
 
McKenzie Hettinga, a dairy farmer from Farwell, Texas said those involved with the event were grateful to provide some stability as the community works through this time together. 
 
Supporters of the event include Affiliated Foods, Baptist Community Services, Cactus Cares, Cal-Maine Foods, Caviness Beef Packers, City of Amarillo, High Plains Food Bank, Hillside Christian Church, Hilmar Cheese Company, Inc., Jax Transport, Larsen Farms, Nutra Blend, Sarah Farms, Snack Pak 4 Kids, Southwest Dairy Farmers and the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. 

There’s been a lot of talk recently about mandatory Country of Origin Labeling (COOL). Let’s set the record straight on a few things.

First, TCFA supports voluntary COOL. We know that U.S. beef is the best in the world in terms of quality, consistency and sustainability and we support a label that highlights those high standards.

However, that label should be market-driven, not mandated by the federal government.

Market-driven programs have proven to be effective, not only for the ranching and feeder families that are the very foundation of our nation’s beef supply, but also for consumers who enjoy high-quality, affordable, nutritious beef. One of the best examples in the history of beef production and marketing is Certified Angus Beef....a voluntary marketing label that has added millions and millions of dollars to the value of beef through increased demand for quality beef.

Mandatory COOL was federal law for 6.5 years, but that law ended up costing all U.S. cattle producers significantly with no measurable benefit to consumers. Let’s visit a few of the reasons mandatory COOL failed the first time.
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1. Mandatory COOL nearly ruined our trading relationship with Mexico and Canada. On four separate occasions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled mandatory COOL was discriminatory and violated international treaty obligations.
2. Because of this, the WTO authorized Mexico and Canada to impose more than $1 billion in retaliatory tariffs against U.S. exports, including a 100% tariff on U.S. beef in Mexico and Canada if the law was not repealed. In 2019, beef exports to Mexico and Canada added over $65 in value per animal. This added value would no longer exist had mandatory COOL not been repealed.
3. Exports not only add value to our product, but they create jobs. USDA’s Economic Research Service reported that for every $1 billion in agricultural exports, 7,500 jobs were required. Simply put, mandatory COOL costs valuable American jobs.
4. Tariffs imposed by Mexico and Canada would have translated into unnecessary higher prices for consumers and lower prices for producers. USDA cited in its report to Congress that the total economic harm to the U.S. beef industry would have been more than $8 billion over a ten-year period.
5. There are no studies that document mandatory COOL increased prices of cattle for U.S. producers and several to the contrary identifying only increased costs to the U.S. beef system.

Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Midland)​, Former Chair of the House Ag Committee, in June 2015 laying out how retaliatory tariffs in response to mandatory COOL would hurt U.S. agriculture. Congress ultimately repealed the law.

​Congress subsequently repealed mandatory COOL in 2015 three days before the tariffs were scheduled to go into effect because of the undue harm the law itself and potential retaliatory tariffs would cause U.S. producers and consumers. Even though Congress prevented WTO from placing tariffs on U.S. beef in 2015, the WTO case remains active. If, at any time, the U.S. implements a new mandatory COOL program, Canada and Mexico can immediately retaliate. They don’t need any additional approval from the WTO.

As we’ve learned time and time again, increasing the government’s involvement in our day-to-day operations with a mandatory label would prove disastrous and ineffective, even more so, during a time when the entire country, especially the cattle industry, is facing unprecedented and extraordinarily difficult times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.