Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) members and staff traveled to Washington D.C. this week for the 9th annual LMA D.C. Fly In. Approximately 50 people met with leaders in D.C. on issues that matter to the livestock marketing industry. Discussion centered on LMA’s opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Waters of the U.S. proposal and a long-term need to update Packers and Stockyards Act requirements.

In addition to meetings on Capitol Hill, attendees also visited with Dr. John Clifford, Chief Veterinary Officer for the USDA and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services; Neil Hammerschmidt, USDA Animal Disease Traceability program manager; Susan Keith, USDA Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) Deputy Administrator; and Brett Offutt, USDA GIPSA Director of Policy and Litigation.

On Tuesday, the LMA hosted a legislative staff briefing to educate attendees on the livestock marketing industry. Dan Harris, LMA President and owner of Holton Livestock Exchange (KS); Larry Schnell, LMA Membership Services Committee Chair and owner, manager of Stockmen’s Livestock Exchange (ND); and Jim Akers, LMA Government and Industry Affairs Committee member and Chief Operating Officer, Blue Grass Livestock Marketing Group (KY), spoke to attendees about current issues, livestock marketing business practices and the LMA. The briefing featured also Blaine Lotz, 2014 World Livestock Auctioneer Champion, auctioning pies to legislative staff as a simulation of the process of order buyers purchasing livestock in an auction market.

“It is extremely important for leaders in D.C. to understand how their decisions affect people in the country. As business owners, employers, and an important part of the agriculture economy, livestock market owners are well suited to provide examples about how good federal policy, such as minimizing unnecessary regulatory burden, makes a difference in their everyday lives” ”said Chelsea Good, LMA Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs. “Market owners attending the DC fly in are making an important commitment not only for their own businesses but our industry as a whole.”