Testimony heard on Nebraska bill to eliminate feedlot brand inspection
The public testified on Nebraska Senator Teresa Ibach’s bill to eliminate brand inspection for feedlots on Feb. 11, 2025.
Ibach, a rancher from Dawson County in the central part of the state, told TSLN earlier this month that feedlot owners within the brand inspection area had asked her to sponsor the legislation to put them on a level playing field with feedlots outside of the brand inspection area.
In their official testimony, the Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association mentioned possible amendments.
Ibach told TSLN earlier that she would consider amendments to her bill, LB 646, including one to accept electronic identification as a form of proof of ownership, and would also be friendly to an amendment to exempt retained ownership cattle from brand inspection requirements if the cattle are going to a different location in the brand inspection area. The Nebraska Cattlemen seem to support these amendment ideas.
Marissa Betson, a Crawford rancher, submitted written testimony only to oppose the bill. TSLN spoke with Betson after the hearing.
Betson said she believes eliminating the requirement for brand inspection at feedlots would dramatically weaken the brand inspection program.
She believes in the brand inspection program, saying it has straightened returned strays to her family and her neighbors.
“I’m worried that if they eliminate some segments of the industry from brand inspection, it will come back on us producers,” she said.
“Cattle get mixed up, cattle jump fences, they get pushed through by predators,” she said. Betson would not want to send her cattle to a feedlot that was not brand inspected.
She said often times, the cattle that brand inspectors discover are not the result of any nefarious behavior, but are just cattle that were mixed on accident ” Especially with so may black cattle, sometimes you can miss a stray,” she said.
The brand inspection fee is a worthwhile fee, and Betson said she believes she gets her money’s worth, but she believes that without the feedlots contributing to the budget, that the fee for producers will increase.
The Nebraska Cattlemen’s Association spoke against the bill also. According to a 2010 Beef Magazine story, the organization did support the elimination of brand inspection at that time, but the group doesn’t back the 2025 effort in its current form.
The organization’s president, Craig Uden delivered the following testimony: “Based on our grassroots policy, I am here on behalf of Nebraska Cattlemen to respectfully oppose LB 646 as written. Because of the broad diversity of our membership, this issue is challenging to work through as there are many perspectives to consider. As introduced, the exemption of registered feedlots with no other adjustments to current statutes gives the brand committee few options to offset the cost of doing business.
“We have engaged in open and honest conversations with Senator Ibach and appreciate her willingness to consider potential amendments to help move Nebraska Cattlemen in the direction of support as we are committed to working on solutions to preserve brand and make it more equitable for the different sectors of the industry.
“We suggested increases in the research and recording fees to be more in line with other states that still have brand inspection. We would also like to see the expansion of forms of ownership to include modern technologies already being used, including electronic ID tags that would be less labor intensive for inspection. Our membership also recognizes that different sectors realize different value in brand inspection and would support moving away from the current fee system based on annual capacity for registered feedlots to a flat audit fee that better reflects the actual services rendered for inspection. Lastly, Nebraska Cattlemen supports the movement of animals between grow yards associated with a registered feedlot with no additional inspection as long as cattle were inspected into the yard.
“A shift in the per-head inspection fee based on annual capacity to an audit fee will significantly decrease the fees paid by registered feedlots for animal identification inspection. As an example, our feedlot currently remits $45,000/ year in brand inspections fees. Under suggested amendments, that fee could be reduced to less than $1,000/ year.
“We realize this bill requires much give and take; our members stand ready to be part of a solution to help modernize brand in Nebraska,” said the Nebraska Cattlemen’s testimony.
