According to NCBA-PAC Chairman Phil Hardee of Alabama, the 2012 presidential election may very well be the most important election of our time.
“If we believe in less government, lower taxes and the free market system, we need to do all we can to maintain a conservative majority in the House and get a majority of conservatives in the Senate,” Phil said during an update of the NCBA Policy Division, noting that right now only about 5% of NCBA’s membership contributes to the organization’s political action committee. “In an ideal world, everyone would be chipping in to the PAC.”
The goal of NCBA is to raise $1 million per election cycle – every two years – and they need to step up donations to meet that goal this year. The live auction raised over $60,000 and the silent auction at the trade show will help as well, but a guy named Jack Daniels is also helping to put some money in the pot during the Cattle Industry Convention.
“For $100 donation you get a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey with an NCBA medallion on it,” Phil said. Cases of the special edition Jack Daniels and other special NCBA-branded whiskey items were also sold during the live auction.
Listen to or download Phil’s PAC update here: Phil Hardee, NCBA PAC Chairman
2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album
Kyle Bauer, general manager of 
AgWired, with our parent company ZimmComm New Media, was proud to sponsor the NCBA Excellence in Communication awards for the second year of their existence. The awards recognize communications professionals from NCBA state affiliate organizations and cattle breed associations, as well as an agricultural journalist. The recipient of the 2011 Excellence in Communications and Public Relations for a state affiliate is Carmen Fenton, director of public affairs for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) and for a breed affiliate is Angie Stump Denton, director of communications for the American Hereford Association (AHA). 
At about 9:00 this morning, Jesse Womack from San Antonio, Texas was filling out an on-site registration form to attend his very first Cattle Industry Convention. 
Less than an hour after he registered, Jesse joined 
Just prior to the opening general session of the Cattle Industry Convention, the U.S. Labor Department announced that a proposal which would have barred children from many on-farm tasks will be revised to allow broader exemptions for parents who own or run agricultural operations. 
The need for more training of meat-counter employees became evident after Merck Animal Health conducted a series of consumer panels that revealed consumers identify the staff behind the counter as experts. “The consumer that goes to the retail store today still sees the person behind the counter in a white coat as the butcher and they expect them to have vast knowledge of the beef products they’re selling,” said Kyle Pfieffer with Merck Animal Health, who notes that the need for training was quickly confirmed during retailer discussions.
Farm dust regulation ranks high on the list of policy priorities for the 
The new chairman of the 
The 10-question game and corresponding videos encourage consumers to explore what cattle eat from birth to the feedyard. The first-of-their-kind “Cow Chow” videos were filmed almost exclusively by cattle in Kansas, South Dakota, Texas and Florida wearing specially-rigged GoPro cameras to share this important animal care story from the cows’ eye view.
The 
Since 2008, more than 800 of world’s most progressive dairy and beef producers have convened for the 
Congress passed a $19.8 billion 2012 agricultural spending bill Thursday that includes language blocking USDA from implementing the controversial reforms to livestock and poultry marketing proposed last year and opposed by major livestock organizations, including the 
NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs Colin Woodall says this means USDA is barred from conducting any further work this year on sections of the rule not yet finalized. “The other four provisions in the farm bill will be going final, and those focus more on poultry than on the cattle industry,” he says. “All of the other outstanding issues that had to do with the cattle industry have either been taken off the table or with this language have been defunded. So it really protects the cattle industry and makes sure that we can continue to develop new marketing alternatives without the government getting involved.”
ZimmComm loves beef. That’s why we are a sponsor of the 
“The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to our exports,” President Obama said in a statement. 