National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane says NCBA has been working hard to help cattle producers through the challenges of COVID-19.

“As the country reels both economically and emotionally from the spread of COVID-19,” Lane said, “we have worked hard to ensure that cattle producers remain able to focus on the national infrastructure priority of keeping high-quality beef available to consumers.”

Lane also says meeting the challenge requires federal officials at the Departments of Agriculture, Transportation, Interior, Treasury, and more to have a full understanding of how their product gets from the pasture to the plate, and his organization is happy to tell that story.

He said COVID-19 has dealt a challenging hand to producers across the country. The resulting highly-volatile markets can’t be allowed to force America’s ranching families out of business just when consumers need them the most. “in order to combat this burden, NCBA has actively engaged leaders in the U.S. House and Senate to ensure that relief funds from any aid package reach these struggling cattle producers directly.”

The NCBA added it’s important that any relief avoids the lasting market-altering effects of a price-support program, which some members of the Senate have advocated for.

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