Cattle Producers Pleased by Withdrawal of Anti-Free Market USDA Rule

Jan 15, 2025

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) welcomed the withdrawal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed rule entitled “Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets,” announced today by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. This harmful regulation would have dismantled current cattle marketing agreements, reversed decades of innovation in the cattle industry, and threatened producer profitability.

“Under the ‘Bidenomics’ agenda, USDA pushed regulations like this one which would have undermined the free market, harmed hardworking cattle producers, and far exceeded the agency’s authority granted by Congress,” said NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Tanner Beymer. “We are pleased that USDA recognized their failed approach and withdrew this rule.

Click here to see more...

Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.