The Internet has been a buzz the last couple days with news that [yellow tail] wine donated $100,000 to HSUS. I’ve read about it in blog posts, on twitter, in Facebook updates and all over the agriculture media. YPC blogger Crystal Young wrote about it here in her personal blog. You can even watch Advocates for Agriculture’s Troy Hadrick dump his last bottle of Yellow Tail out on YouTube.

I’ve been very proud to see everyone’s quick reactions and [yellow tail] has taken notice. I’d love to see an environment where companies are afraid to donate to HSUS because of the backlash that follows.

I remember what the Marine recruiter told me when he was sitting at my parent’s kitchen table.  He told me it would be hard work.  He said all they would ask of me, is all I had to give.  He assured me it would be worth it.  If you were at the General Session II in San Antonio you know there were a lot of college age folks there.  They didn’t get a great deal of assurance.   I want to set the record straight for you students.

During that session one of the association’s leaders was on stage giving his speech and he had this weird bridge in there that went into macro economics, demand and profitability-or lack thereof.  He went into this whole ditty about how this year will better than last year.  “Cattlemen are the eternal optimists.  We just have to hang on long enough to turn the next corner.”  Then it came.  He said “I’ve turned the corner so many times awaiting profit that I passed myself going around the block”  Was that supposed to be cute?  

I sat wondering what was going through the minds of those college students.  They just heard that there was little to no money in our industry, and that when they apply for a job they will be sold on the concept of being a part of something.  I wondered if they remember the one speaker on the panel that touched on capitalism.  He stated that with it you can fail and still be able to get back on your feet and make a comeback and still be a success.  My guess is those kids remember the “around the block” part.

I want to keep this blog short, so I won’t get into a lot of detail.  Here’s what I want you college folks to understand. More...

In order for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to continue our efforts to provide the best education opportunities possible for our members and better prepare current and future volunteer leaders for the beef industry, we are asking for your input through an online questionnaire.

This survey will help determine the leadership education needs of those involved in the cattle industry and provide valuable information to NCBA and the beef industry.

The questionnaire will only take approximately 15 minutes and will be available until February 7th. Your answers are anonymous and confidential. You can click this link or use this web address to access the survey:

www.surveymonkey.com/s/NCBA

Thank you in advance for your time and participation. Your response is important to our industry and greatly appreciated!

Crystal Mathews
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Florida

Do you know the reason Bill Clinton spent so much time trying to define what “is” is?

The reason lies with the simple truth that words matter.  All good politicians and bureaucrats know the value of crafting not just an accurate message but a polished and perfect message.  They are communicating to the voting masses and do not want to risk offending a single one of them.  So they strive to be honest yet as polite as possible in order to keep every vote.  However, there are millions of people who vote everyday with their pocketbooks on your livelihood and we talk to them with phrases that will ensure they vote for our opponents!

We must revisit the issue of how we describe ourselves.  Words that hurt our image with consumers have changed in the last 20-plus years.  In the 1970’s and 80’s “agribusiness” was popular.  Computerized farming and ranching signaled to the consumer that we were modern and sophisticated, just like them.  So we began calling ourselves “producers” and “growers” in order to appeal to their preferences.  We still refer to ourselves that way and we all More...

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), a self-declared "sophisticated political organization," submitted a petition to Ohio’s Attorney General this week in support of placing an "anti-cruelty" measure on the statewide November ballot. The proposed measure would allow voters to require the newly created Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board to adopt standards that will effectively end livestock production in Ohio by making it economically unfeasible to feed chickens, hogs, or veal calves in the state.

Utilizing a large corps of paid petition circulators, the group will seek to collect more than 600,000 signatures of registered Ohio voters upon approval of the petition forms by the Secretary of State. In doing so, they will attempt to circumvent the will of the Ohio voters in passing the measure to create the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board last November.

If you’ve been paying attention to college basketball lately you know that my Alma Mater, Kansas State University, beat the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns.  A friend of mine attended the game and said she could see prominently in the crowd a K-State fan with a sign that said “Eat Beef, Go Cats!” She sent me this blurry picture, taken from her camera phone. The arrow is pointing to the sign.

I’m all for creative ways of getting the message across. Think of how many people would have seen this sign in Bramlage Coliseum that night.

Here’s another K-State sports sign that referenced Ag. This one is from football season. It’s a bit more controversial, taking a jab at ex University of Kansas football coach Mark Mangino at the same time.

I can see how some may take offense to the second sign, and I’m not trying to encourage poking fun at others. However, as long as people keep eating beef and cheering for the Cats, I’m happy.

EMAW (Every Man a Wildcat),

Chelsea