You’ll be seeing some new faces in the management of the YPC Cattle Call. Cari Rincker is proud to hand over the reins to new head editor, Lauren Chase, and co-editors Jesse Bussard, Danielle Schubert, and Meghan Wooldridge. We thank Cari for all her work in helping to start the YPC Cattle Call and nurturing it over the past few years. Our goal as the new editorial staff for the Cattle Call is to tell the story of our members, the young producers, which are the future of the cattle industry. Jesse Bussard will also be taking over as the new YPC Public Relations Task Force Chair.

Lauren is the Multimedia Specialist for the Montana Stockgrowers Association and resides in Helena, MT. Her job is traveling to member ranches to take photos and conduct video interviews for use on MSGA’s social media sites. She will also be producing a series of photo books featuring Montanan ranchers. Lauren graduated from the University of Iowa with two majors: Journalism and Mass Communication and Anthropology. To stay up on the latest beef news news, check out her list of "agvocates" on Twitter and also, follow her multimedia work on MSGA's Facebook page. 

Jesse Bussard is pursuing her M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Science, focusing on forages and livestock grazing systems, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. She is also an Animal Science graduate of Penn State University and a native of Pennsylvania. You can find out more about Jesse on her blog, Pearl Snaps’ Ponderings. 

Danielle Schubert is a junior at South Dakota State University where she is working toward a degree in both Animal Science and Ag Business.  She grew up on a commercial cow/calf operation in central Minnesota and is passionate about being an advocate for agriculture.

Meghan Wooldridge graduated from Colorado State with a degree in Animal Science. She currently works for AgInfoLink in Verified Services.

We are currently looking for new submissions from Young Producer Council members on topics that are in keeping with your daily lives in the cattle industry. Photos, videos, opinion articles - you name it, we want it! This is a great way to tell your story to the world and having the young producers, the future of the industry, talk about it from their perspective is the goal. We will be changing the blog from its current platform to Wordpress soon which will make for easier submissions. We will let you know when that change occurs. As for now, tell us your story! Thank you for your continued dedication to the beef industry. If you know of anyone else who might be interested in this blog, please pass the word along.

Please email one of us to let us know if you are interested in submitting content to the blog. Even if you can only submit one photo or article per month, that would still be great! Our contact information can be found below.

Head Editor: Lauren Chase (Lauren.chase4@gmail.com)

 Public Relations Task Force Chair & Co-editor: Jesse Bussard (Jrb5218@gmail.com)

Co-Editor: Danielle Schubert (dlschubert@jacks.sdstate.edu)

Co-Editor: Meghan Wooldridge (Meghan.wooldridge@aginfolink.com)

Again, thank you and til next time, Happy Trails!

~ The YPC Cattle Call Editorial Staff

As I said in this blog, I am the Public Relations Chair for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association ("NCBA") Young Producers' Council ("YPC").  Last month we had a conference call with folks interested in being on the committee.  I wanted to update those of you who were not able to make the call but are interested in digging in and getting your hands dirty.

The YPC Public Relations Task Force will be divided into nine (yes, NINE) different subcommittees:

1.  Local Media Subcommittee:  I am particularly excited about this subcommittee for 2010.  Lead by Chair Travis Reid (Pennslyvania), this subcommittee will manage YPC media contacts throughout the country and help put young producers in contact with their local radio stations, newspapers, television news stations and magazines.  YPC media contacts are strongly encouraged to participate in the Masters of Beef Advocacy ("MBA") program.  I am an alum of the MBA program and I wrote a blog on my experience here.    

2.  National Media Subcommittee:  Lead by Holly Foster (California) and RaeMarie Gordon (Colorado), this subcommittee will focus media energies towards national media.  Not only will this subcommittee draft press releases but it will identify YPC members with superior communication skills and/or expertise for articles and interviews.   

3.  Media and Policy Training Subcommitte:  This is an exciting new subcommitte for the PR Task Force.  This Committee will help encourage YPC members to complete the MBA program.  Additionally, this subcommittee will work with NCBA to prepare an additional level of policy training for YPC members. 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

I just left the NCBA Membership Committee meeting at the annual convention in San Antonio, where members discussed the report of the Governance Task Force, a critical issue and opportunity before members this year.  Perhaps as important, the members of the committee discussed a proposal to adjust NCBA dues this year.  Reflecting the concerns about challenges facing agriculture in general, and cattlemen in specific, the proposal is driven by the need for NCBA to "maintain and enhance expertise and services in Washington, D.C."

The basics of the proposal revolve around an increase in the base dues for membership.  For example, as a producer who owns fewer than 100 head, I pay $50 to enjoy in the numerous benefits afforded NCBA members.  Under the current proposal, my dues would become $100, or roughly $8.33 per month.  To quote my conversation earlier with NCBA President Gary Voogt, that's roughly equivalent to one tank of diesel in your F-350, or four bags of mineral supplement.  "You wouldn't do without either of those," Gary told me, "so why would you do without your NCBA membership?"

In terms of percentage increase, the dues tier in which I fall appears to be the most affected.  Other dues brackets increase anywhere from $100-$180 per year, according to how many head a member owns.  As Voogt, and members of the committee pointed out, membership in NCBA provides tremendous representation in Washington, DC, and with regulation and legislation adding cost to our bottom line and threatening to put farm and ranch families out of business, More...