Nebraska brand bill amended again; more changes possible

The Nebraska legislature amended the feedlot brand bill again on May 21, 2025, and this might not be the final change.

Although it was rumored that the contentious bill might not be brought up again with the legislative session nearing the end, it was in fact scheduled for floor debate May 21, 2025. A new, unexpected amendment was offered that day and passed by a voice vote.

After multiple amendments and conversations about optional language, the Nebraska unicameral approved AM 1558 which essentially makes three changes to the current Nebraska brand law.

1. Lowers the fees for Registered Feedlots (RFLs) from the current fee of $1 per head calculated on one-time capacity to $.50 per head based on one-time capacity
2. Raises the cap for the brand inspection fee to $1.50.
3.  Exempts qualified dairies from brand inspection

Ibach told TSLN that she might propose yet another amendment. She would like to see an exemption for cattle that enter a growyard or feedyard but do not change ownership. Currently when cattle enter a growyard or a feedyard they must be inspected even if no change of ownership occurs. Ibach would like to see this amended to require no more than one inspection, and for cattle that come into the inspection area from a non-inspection area (such as cattle entering the Nebraska inspection area from Kansas), health paperwork or other paperwork should be sufficient to supplant the current required inspection, she believes.

“If there is a one-time inspection into the background lot and feedlots can show proof of ownership from then on, they should not be required, in my opinion, to continually obtain inspections,” she said.

Ibach said that she wouldn’t bring another amendment without the approval of Senator Tanya Storer, a Cherry County rancher and former Nebraska Brand Committee member and Senator Mike Jacobson of North Platte who has also vocally opposed Ibach’s efforts to lessen brand inspection requirements for feedlots.

Storer has not seen a new amendment proposal from Ibach so she was not comfortable commenting on the concept.

Ibach said that if Storer and Jacobson agree to the ‘non-transfer of ownership’ amendment, the bill would be placed back into ‘select’ file, the body would vote on the amendment and then the body would vote on the bill itself in ‘final.’

Storer has consistently challenged Ibach’s efforts to lessen brand inspection requirements and lower fees for RFLs.

Earlier in the session, (after the vote on the last amendment) Ibach testified on the floor that she would not ask to schedule the bill if she and Senator Storer could not “come to an agreement.”

Senator Teresa Ibach of Dawson County said LB 646, the feedlot brand bill, is her priority bill this year. Each senator is allowed one such bill. She also said she could possibly bring another amendment before session ends.

Ibach indicated to TSLN that the Speaker scheduled the amendment this past week without her knowledge.

“I didn’t think it would move last week. It caught us all off guard,” Ibach said.

Storer wasn’t prepared for the amendment to come up for floor debate.

“We started scrambling around to get prepared,” she said.

Ibach has brought at least six amendments to her own bill this session, none of which were palatable to Storer.

Storer considers AM 1558  a “win,” although she was not seeking change to the brand law.

“I do want to be clear – we increased the brand inspection fee cap to $1.50. That does not increase the fee automatically, it gives the Nebraska Brand Committee the flexibility to raise it up to $1.50 if needed,” she said.

“Considering we started with a bill that blew a gaping hole in the inspection system and put it on a path to its own demise, this final amendment is a win,” said Storer.

She said that once a bill hits the floor, especially if it’s presented by someone in the majority party (Republican), some version of that bill is probably going to “go across the finish line.”

“So it’s a win from the standpoint that we reined it in considerably. We kept inspection in place, kept feedlots paying a reasonable fee for the audits we want to ensure take place,’ Storer said.

Storer has consistently lobbied for the brand inspection requirements to remain intact and for the feedlots to pay their fair share in the brand budget.

Ibach said two interim studies will look at the brand inspection program and potential improvements that could be made for efficiency’s sake.

The president of Equitable Bank of North Platte, Levi Fisher, who has been engaged in the bill discussion from the get-go said he isn’t “in love with it,” but added, “I can live with it.”

He wasn’t impressed with the political antics and late-night scheduling.

“I got a call at 10:30 pm saying this was coming back up, even though Storer hadn’t committed to supporting any version brought forward,” said Fisher, who is also a cattle owner.

Fisher said he expects the bigger feedlots, those that backed the original bill, will likely continue to seek exemptions to inspection requirements.

Fisher believes there is value to third party ownership verification, which is what the brand inspection program provides.

He would like to see any future proposed changes be discussed among the industry – cattle producers, Nebraska Brand Committee members and feedlot owners. Asking senators that are unfamiliar and essentially unaffected by the program to decide how to change it is unwise and risky, he said.

“Everyone (within the industry) understands what the purpose of the program is. You’re not going to have every loophole filled. Some people want to tweak it for their own personal benefit, but when you look at it, you learn why it’s set up the way it is. It’s a very comprehensive program, there is a lot to it. You can’t have every little convenience for every little segment of the industry,” he said. “Almost everyone sees the value and is willing to pay for it,” he said.

RFLs

Registered Feedlots are designated by the Nebraska Brand Committee. They pay a once per year fee that amounts to $1 per head of their one-time capacity. Because cattle are often not fed for a full 365 days, feedlots feed more animals than their one-time capacity each year. Thus, they pay less than $1 per head for their annual brand inspections. (This was amended to $.50 per head in the latest amendment).

RFLs are also provided the privilege of shipping to slaughter without an inspection, in order to lessen the chance of overstressing cattle and also to allow feedlots to ship at night, when brand inspections are prohibited.

Essentially, RFL’s pay for the privilege to inspect “in” instead of inspecting “out” to slaughter when they sell to the processing plant.

The Nebraska Brand Committee reserves the right to audit RFLs’ paperwork for ownership verification.