Nebraska Sen. Teresa Ibach will offer a third amendment to her bill to lessen brand inspection requirements for the state’s feedlots.

The Dawson County senator who says she utilizes a hot brand on her own cattle sponsored LB 646, originally worded to exempt Nebraska feedyards within the brand inspection area from the brand inspection requirement.

Ibach then amended her own bill and in its current form, the bill would drastically change the brand inspection requirements of the state’s registered feedlots or RFLs.

Under current law, RFLs are exempt from the requirement to obtain a brand inspection when cattle are transported to a slaughter plant. Because inspection at shipping time can be difficult (brand inspection is not legal in the dark) or stressful for the fattened cattle, (they can be susceptible to stress or heat-induced heart or breathing problems when handled more than necessary) the RFLs maintain brand inspection records on all cattle coming in and the Nebraska Brand Committee audits the records. In a sense the cattle are inspected “in” rather than inspected “out.” RFLs pay a once per year fee of $1 per head for the feedlot capacity. Because feedlots generally feed more than their one time capacity each year, they generally pay less then the $1 per head that other cattle owners pay for brand inspection.

The current version of LB 646 lowers the feedlot fee to a flat rate of $1,000 and eliminates the requirement of inspection from growyard to feedlot if the two are affiliated. Because of this change, cattle that enter a growyard or feedyard in the eastern part of the state, where brand inspection is not required, could be transferred to an affiliated yard within the brand inspection area (approximately the western two-thirds of the state) and would not be subject to a brand inspection at any point.

Cherry County Sen. Tanya Storer, a rancher and former member of the Nebraska Brand Committee has seen Ibach’s latest amendment but as of press time had not had time to review it closely.

Storer said she believes the new amendment would increase the fee for RFLs from $1,000 to around 10 cents per head up to a maximum of $5,000.

She said the new proposed amendment which is not available online yet also defines the term “affiliated” growyard and feedyard.

LEAVING A LOOPHOLE

At first glance, Storer is concerned the new amendment may still leave a loophole for some cattle to avoid ownership inspection.

“I have said all along. We need to have at least one inspection. And an equitable fee structure,” said Storer.

Storer also has doubts about the maximum fee of $5,000 for all sizes of feedlots being sufficient to keep the brand committee solvent.

“This bill and all of the amendments have proposed a radical change in the fees the RFLs pay for the audit process. It has gone from nothing to $1,000 to maybe up to $5,000,” she said. She makes the point that an 80,000 head feedlot, currently paying $80,000 for the inspection “in” rather than the inspection “out” privilege, would only contribute $5,000 per year under the new proposal.

While Storer concedes that the amendments have been a move in the right direction, she still has serious concerns about the bill and amendment. Her biggest priorities are ensuring that cattle are inspected at least once and that the fee structure is fair and equitable.

Storer will consult with the Nebraska Brand Committee to learn if they agree with the amendment before making a decision of support or opposition.

Continually amending this bill on the senate floor concerns Storer. The brand inspection law is complicated. “We are dealing with a body of 49 people with five or fewer who have any direct involvement in the livestock industry. For something the entire body is so unfamiliar with, it’s a little risky to be carrying out all of these amendments on a topic that the entire body struggles to understand,” she said.

Brownlee rancher and chairman of the Nebraska Cattlemen Matt Blackford said because the amended version of the bill now requires RFLs to pay a fee and because it calls for audits, he supports the bill. Blackford was speaking on his own behalf, not as a representative of the NC.

He said “the feedlots” have tried twice in the recent past to amend the brand law, and that if something isn’t done, they will be back to the legislature again. He supports a change in the law in order to avoid “kicking the can down the road,” which would require the legislature and industry to discuss the issue again in the near future.

Ibach said in an earlier interview that feedlots had asked her for this legislation, although she didn’t specify which ones. Black Shirt Feeders, a new Canadian-owned facility expected to be able to feed at least 100,000 head of cattle is located in Ibach’s district and told The Fence Post it supports LB 646.

STATUS QUO SUPPORTER

Steve Scholz, who owns Lincoln County Feedyard based in Stapleton, supports the status quo, and said brand inspection is an important tool in Nebraska’s livestock industry.

With a capacity of 40,000, he currently pays $40,000 per year to the Brand Committee. He said this cost is miniscule when considering the value of the animals he’s feeding.

“It’s costing RFLs around 50 cents to $1 per head now. If we can’t figure that into a budget on a $2,200 plus animal, we are doing something wrong,” he said.

Scholz said if cattle aren’t inspected when they move from growyards to feedlots, the risk for strays increases.

“Any time you have cattle outside in a grazing situation, when you round them up, the neighbor’s cattle could be in there,” he said.

Scholz added that theft reports from feedyards are “probably minimal because there is a brand law in place. But if you know there won’t be a state patrol on your way to work every day, are you going to drive 60 or are you going to drive 70?” he asks rhetorically. “Eventually, you’ll start crowding the law, that is human nature,” he said.

Sholz said, on the topic of third party verification of ownership, “This is an issue we can’t tread backward on due to the value of livestock. It seems like every week there are cattle thefts reported in non brand states — Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas. When you take brand inspection out of the equation, stuff starts happening,” he said.

Recent news reports have revealed fraud in a large Canadian feedlot where the owner borrowed money for “ghost” cattle that didn’t exist.

Sen. Ibach could not be reached for comment.