WASHINGTON — The leaders of Senate Bipartisan Small Brewers Caucus have joined the chorus calling for the Food and Drug Administration to reconsider plans to regulate the spent grain produced by brewers that is used as animal food.

In a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, co-chairs of the caucus, wrote that the new rule would be “onerous, costly and even wasteful” if implemented as proposed. The agency announced the potential change in October, suggesting it would require heightened sanitation requirements for the storage and transportation of animal food under the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Breweries in Central Oregon produce millions of pounds of spent grain a year, most of which they sell to local ranchers as an inexpensive source of food for their cattle. In some cases, the ranchers sell their beef back to the pubs.

“This historically standard practice provides nutritious silage for animals and saves the brewers from having to pay for expensive disposal in landfills, many of which are already overflowing,” Wyden and Murkowski’s letter states. “It is our understanding that there are no documented cases of contamination or health threats caused by livestock consuming spent grains.”

Under the proposal, local breweries and ranchers would have to invest in expensive upgrades related to how they handle, store and transport the grain — or abandon the practice altogether.

Wyden and Murkowski are part of the 21-member caucus, founded in 2011 by then-Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., is also a member.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield, is co-chair of caucus’ counterpart in the House. The House caucus has more than 100 members, including all five members of Oregon’s delegation.

“The alliance between one of Oregon’s oldest industries, agriculture, and one of the newest, craft beer, is at risk of being torn apart by federal regulators,” Wyden said earlier this week during a news conference in Portland.

Earlier this month, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River, also wrote to Hamburg, urging her to reconsider the proposed rule. Last month, 13 senators, including Murkowski, signed a similar letter.

In 2012, craft breweries contributed $33.9 billion to the U.S. economy, according to the Brewers Association, a Colorado-based trade group. Oregon’s craft beer industry supported almost 15,000 jobs, and ranked top in the nation at almost $450 of economic activity per resident older than 21. Overall, the industry produced almost $1.3 billion in economic activity in Oregon, according to Brewers Association figures.

—  Reporter: 202-662-7456, aclevenger@bendbulletin.com