Producer voices are important and they can yield results. Ethan Lane, the senior vice president of government affairs with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, tells the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network at NCBA’s CattleCon in Nashville that Iowa producers are numerous and active at the conference.
New World Screwworm is one of the primary top-level issues for producers in the southern United States near the Mexico border. While NWS has been isolated to Mexico thus far, producers in this country are very concerned about the spread of the parasite and the potential of NWS crossing the border. Despite the distance from Iowa, Lane says that Iowa producers need to continue to follow the spread of screwworm flies north and their potential impact on the United States.
In the fall of 2025, there was a lot of concern raised by producers when the idea of importing more Argentine beef was discussed by the Trump administration. Ethan Lane says that some of the producer tensions have subsided as the administration has moved on to different topics.
That was Ethan Lane, the senior vice president of government affairs with NCBA.
