Story by Unicameral Update
LINCOLN, Neb - A measure originally intended to create uniformity in the feedlot industry under Nebraska law was narrowed before being advanced to final reading May 21.
Under current law, feedlots within a brand inspection area in Nebraska can become registered feedlots and be exempt from brand inspections when shipping cattle to slaughter. Inspection of RFLs is required, however, when cattle enter the feedlot and the Nebraska Brand Committee can conduct regular audits of RFL records at their discretion.
Sumner Sen. Teresa Ibach, sponsor of LB646, said only the western two-thirds of Nebraska is within the brand inspection area, while the eastern one-third of the state has no branding inspection requirements.
As amended on first-round debate, the measure would require a $1,000 fee to operate a registered feedlot in Nebraska and increase the cap on the physical and electronic inspection fee the Brand Committee may charge to $1.50 per head. The measure also would allow for new inspection exemptions for cattle:
• transferred to the care of another individual without transfer of ownership if proof of temporary possession is established;
• being transferred to or from a qualified dairy;
• transferred to an affiliated grow yard from an inspected RFL under certain conditions; and
• transferred from an affiliated grow yard to an RFL under certain conditions.
North Platte Sen. Mike Jacobson offered an amendment on select file that he said was the result of continued negotiations among various stakeholders.
The amendment, which replaces the previous proposal, would increase the cap on the physical and electronic inspection fee the Brand Committee may charge to $1.50 per head, exempt from inspection cattle shipped to or from a qualified dairy and set the feedlot registration fee at 50 cents multiplied by the feedlot’s maximum livestock capacity.
Jacobson said the amendment would cut the current feedlot registration fee in half. The state’s brand inspection system is important to cow/calf producers, he said, and the compromise amendment would ensure that all factions of the industry are treated fairly.
Calling the amendment “a good first step,” Ibach spoke in favor of it. She said further reforms need to happen, but that the proposal would “move the needle” in the right direction.
“I feel like we’ve made some progress,” she said.
Whitman Sen. Tanya Storer also supported the amendment, although with reservations. A vigorous opponent of the measure on the first round of debate, Storer called the negotiation process “frustrating” and said she had “fought like hell” to make sure the integrity of the state’s brand inspection system was maintained for cattle producers.
“This industry is the core — the foundation — certainly of my district, but I believe of the state of Nebraska,” Storer said.
She offered and later withdrew a floor amendment to the Jacobson amendment to replace a mileage reimbursement system with a flat surcharge fee for travel expenses incurred by brand committee members for inspections.
Ibach said the change was not part of the agreement that was reached during negotiations, but she offered a floor amendment with those same provisions that also included a $20 cap on the surcharge.
She said she was willing to do so in order to not derail the bill and “keep talking” about the change before the final round of debate. The Ibach amendment was adopted 36-0.
Following the 37-0 adoption of the Jacobson amendment, senators advanced LB646 to final reading by voice vote.