WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 18,
2017) - The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) today joined with more
than 100 other agricultural groups and industry leaders in calling for Congress
to establish and fully fund a robust Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine bank
as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. The letter was sent to U.S. Senate Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and Ranking
Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), as well as U.S. House Agriculture Committee
Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.)

“An outbreak of FMD will
have a devastating effect on all of agriculture – not just livestock producers
– and will have long-lasting ramifications for the viability of U.S.
agriculture, the maintenance of food security in this great nation, and overall
national security,” the letter stated. “An outbreak of FMD would immediately
close all export markets. The cumulative impact of an outbreak on the beef and
pork sectors over a 10-year period would be more than $128 billion... The
annual jobs impact of such a reduction in industry revenue is more than 58,000
in direct employment and nearly 154,000 in total employment.”

As the letter was
delivered to Capitol Hill, NCBA President Craig Uden stressed the importance of
investing in a FMD vaccine bank, rather than trying to contain an outbreak
after the fact.

“Simply put, we cannot afford to be locked out of valuable foreign
markets again,” Uden said. “It’s taken us well over a decade to get back up to
speed in Asia after the 2003 BSE scare, and we must have support and full
funding for this FMD vaccine bank to protect for our vital industry. The
consequences would be catastrophic.”

Uden recently returned from a trade mission to China, which just
reopened its borders to American-made beef for the first time in nearly 14
years.

The letter to Capitol
Hill’s agricultural leaders was spearheaded by NCBA, the National Pork
Producers Council, the American Sheep Industry Association, and the National
Milk Producers Federation.