Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them. — Alan Watts

In general, that is how I personally view the ambiguous and unnecessarily lengthy proposed rule changes and legislation set forth in politics. Recently though there has been an initiative proposed that has disturbed and perplexed me; this proposal is regarding the U.S. Department of Agriculture Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s (GIPSA) plans.  A rule ‘adjustment’ has been set forth (as required by the 2008 Farm Bill and through existing authority under the Packers and Stockyards Act) regarding livestock and poultry marketing practices.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has requested a 120-day extension to the public comment period for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s (GIPSA) proposed rule on livestock marketing. The proposed rule, announced June 18, suggests major changes to the way producers can market their cattle.

In a letter sent to GIPSA Administrator J. Dudley Butler, NCBA President Steve Foglesong reiterated NCBA’s concerns with the proposed rule and emphasized the need for additional time to thoroughly analyze its potential legal and economic impacts on U.S. cattle producers.

“The Secretary of Agriculture referred to this as one of the most sweeping reforms of the Packers and Stockyards Act,” stated Foglesong. “As such, it’s extremely important that we thoroughly understand the rule and both its intended, and unintended, consequences on the U.S. cattle community.”

NCBA believes the scope of the proposed rule goes well beyond what Congress intended under the 2008 Farm Bill.

“American cattle producers are innovators who have worked hard over the past several years to develop alternative marketing arrangements and marketing alliances to get paid for the value they add to their cattle,” Foglesong continued. “Whether intended or not, we believe that this rule jeopardizes these long-standing marketing arrangements that compensate producers for providing higher quality cattle.”

If this rule gains momentum it can greatly affect how we as produces are able to market our cattle and continue in the industry we know and love. The proposed rule will be discussed at Summer Conference in Denver and I hope you all can make the time to come and make your voices heard. If you cannot attend please leave any comments you may have on this article and I will do my best to represent what you have to say.

Interested in my resources?

Cattle Network Article
Cow/ Calf Weekly Article

Look, if you had one shot…
One opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted…
One moment…
Could you capture it…
Or would it slip away?

How prepared are we to talk with consumers and those that may have questions about beef or the production practices of our industry? I am in San Antonio for NCBA winter conference as I write this article. It was one part of the topics discussed yesterday by Troy and Stacy Hadrick at the Master of Beef Advocacy (MBA) commencement. I’ll only do a brief plug for the program by asking a question. If someone gathered the basic facts for you to equip yourself to speak well about your industry would you take the time? If the answer is yes than I encourage you to invest the effort in the MBA classes.  You can do this by contacting Daren Williams at dwilliams@beef.org.  Also, you can check out all the efforts from Troy and Stacy at http://www.advocatesforag.com/.   

What I will talk about here is what is termed as an ‘elevator speech’. It tells who you are, possibly where you are from and something that can help you connect with a listener -- in 30 seconds. It’s just like a commercial – about you.

If you haven't prepped an elevator pitch for an opportune moments, More...

Urban sprawl is something that affects nearly every beef farmer in the United States.  Whether you live in Florida where new towns seem to pop up over night or near highly populated areas where commuters are buying up their idea of “the country life”, our city neighbors are getting closer to us everyday. Add to that the small world syndrome created by on-line social networking sites and instant answers provided by the internet where anybody can be an expert on any subject, including agriculture, with a few mouse clicks and we have a very dire situation upon us.  Unlike the old country song that says, “country wasn’t cool”, right now the country life is very cool and this phenomenon has brought up new challenges for us.

Suddenly we have new neighbors who are all experts on “green” living and while they know all the latest composting trends for their organic gardens and how to buy the best free range eggs.  They have little knowledge about how farmers are the original environmentalists (or as I prefer to say applied environmentalists) and the important role they play in the community they transplanted themselves into. 

 A case in point happened earlier this year in Monroe County Tennessee a, thriving agricultural county near Nashville that More...

“One day a rich father took his young son on a trip to the country in hopes of showing him how the poor people live. They spent a day and a night in the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son,

"How was the trip?"

"Great, Dad!"

"Did you see how poor other people can be?" the father asked.

"Yeah!"

“And what did you learn?” asked the father. More...