Owners say feedlot bill is unnecessary

    Ranchers branding their cattle identifies ownership.
    In Nebraska, the brand inspection area is the western two thirds of the state. The eastern third does not require brands.   
    Legislation has been introduced in the Nebraska Legislature that would require cattle that do not travel directly from a point of origin to a registered feedlot be subject to brand inspection upon arrival at the registered feedlot.  
    LB 229 was introduced on Jan. 10 by State Senator Steve Erdman of Bayard, and the proposed bill went before the Agriculture Committee Feb. 7.  
    Brad Foote of Imperial Beef was among other feedlot owners who testified before the committee saying the requirements proposed are unnecessary and impractical.  
    “In 16 years nearly 2 million head of cattle have been processed through our operation with no situation,” Foote said.  
    Registered feedlots pay a fee for that designation, he said.  The LB 229 proposal requirements would merely be a tax for the state to scrutinize cattle operations where no problem exists, he said.  
    Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma cattle operations do not have brand inspection requirements and have not had problems, he said.  
    Feedlots are a part of the cattle industry and should be subject to inspections, Senator Erdman said.  
    “The bill has been introduced to the legislature and the hearing held with the Ag Committee. From there the committee can do nothing, vote to kill the bill or advance it,” he said.
    According to the Nebraska Brand Committee website, there are 86 brand-related statutes that cover the sale, purchase, transportation, branding and brand inspection of livestock.  
    Sixty- eight of these statutes pertain to all areas, and 18 are for the brand area only, which is the western two-thirds of the state.
    John Widdowson, Executive Director of the Nebraska Brand Committee, was contacted and said the issues involving branding inspections are presently in litigation and he cannot comment.
    For many years Nebraska has been a “fence in fence out” state, where cattle are less likely to intermingle like in open range area, he said.