Will cattle producers be helped or hurt by the proposed Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) regulation that is intended to provide protection for producers against unfair, fraudulent or retaliatory practices in the livestock business? That is the question that many in the cattle business are asking now, less than two months after the rule was proposed. Many of …
Cattle Feeder Concerned With GIPSA Proposed Rule
The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) proposed rule that was published in June is causing quite a bit of concern among cattle feeders, who would be impacted right along with every other aspect of the meat and poultry industry. I talked about the issue with Jerry Bohn, general manager of Pratt Feeders in Kansas, who will be taking …
GIPSA Rule Hot Topic At Next USDA/DOJ Workshop
The next USDA/DOJ public workshop on competition in the livestock industry is scheduled for next week in Ft. Collins, CO, and I will be attending. The session will be held on Friday and there will be a separate session the evening before hosted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and National Pork Producers Council which I will also be attending. …
Get Your MBA In Beef Agvocacy
If you haven’t obtained your Masters of Beef Advocacy diploma yet, what are you waiting for? This Checkoff funded program can be completed online and according to the Dean of the program, Daren Williams, NCBA, over 1,500 beef producers have done so ranging in age from 8 to 80 yrs. old! This is a photo of Daren from our media …
NCBA, CBB, QSBC Leaders Talk
Prior to the end of the Cattle Industry Summer Convention I came across some of the leaders of the NCBA, CBB and Federation of State Beef Councils having a discussion. I am quite happy to see this effort and think it’s a good sign for the future. There have been some very tense and emotional moments here at the conference …
Temple Grandin Presented NCBA Lifetime Achievement Award
At the Cattle Industry Summer Conference second general session Temple Grandin was presented with a special Lifetime Achievement Award from NCBA. We heard some stories about the making of her HBO movie and she made a few remarks. She said that back in the ’70’s there would be people that would help out a “quirky” kid and we need more …
Issues Facing Cattle Industry
The NCBA President Elect is Bill Donald from Montana. He’s pictured here speaking with CBB Vice Chairman, Tom Jones. I talked with Bill about the issues facing cattle producers. Bill says there are several issues. They include the death tax, the GIPSA rules and the decline of the U.S. cattle herd. Some of these are more time sensitive than others …
CBB Perspective On NCBA Compliance Review
In order to get some perspective from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board on the NCBA Compliance Review issue I spoke with CBB Secretary/Treasurer Robert Fountain, Jr. Here’s Robert with Charlotte Coates, CBB Operations Manager. You can read CBB’s statement on the review here. In my interview with Robert he describes why the audit was conducted and why it was released on …
NCBA Press Conference On CBB Audit
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Board just concluded a press conference on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board independent account’s report that audited NCBA use of Beef Checkoff funds. This report was released earlier this week. There is obviously a lot of friction right now between the organizations and media were given an opportunity to hear NCBA’s side of the story this morning. …
Welcome To Beltway Beef
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has just started its first official blog, Beltway Beef. Here’s the first post from blogger Mike Deering. It is a pleasure to welcome you to the the first-ever blog of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. We are excited to engage in this new initiative and sincerely hope you are just as thrilled to have this …