Steve Foglesong of Illinois has just a couple more days as president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and I spent a few minutes with him today reflecting on his year as the head of the organizations.
When it came to over-reaching government regulation, Steve said, “It was non-stop, one issue after another” but, he is pleased that NCBA was successful in getting some of those things changed or stopped.
GIPSA was the biggest regulatory issue that NCBA faced in 2010, and while a final decision has not yet been made, Steve is happy the Secretary of Agriculture has now ordered a full economic analysis of the proposed rule. “And they’re going to take their time and do that job right.”
After so many struggles in 2010, Steve said it was strange that the year ended with a victory that meant a great deal to the cattle industry – two years of death tax relief in the lame duck session of Congress. But, he notes that the industry will still be “looking for a full repeal.”
Listen or download my interview with Steve here: NCBA president Steve Foglesong
2011 Cattle Industry Convention Photos
See more coverage on BeltwayBeef.org.
Addressing about 5,000 cattle industry members from around the country Thursday morning, the man who served President George W. Bush in the White House gave a nice, if somewhat backhanded, compliment to the 
The pony-tailed president-elect of the 
Getting more serious, Bill stressed the importance of the industry working together. “We’re a diverse outfit, we cover every segment of the industry, and I don’t apologize to anybody about that,” he said. “Yeah, we’ve got packers who serve on the board of this outfit. And we’ve got retailers and we have importers and cow-calf guys and stocker guys and feedlot operators. Because that’s what it takes for all of us to be profitable is all of us to be in the same room working on the same issues.”
A draft version of the Beef Industry Long-Range Plan 2011-2013 has been presented here at the Cattle Industry Convention. It will be discussed and refined I’m sure. The hope is that it will be adopted in a final version by the end of this meeting so work can get started on the 3 year plan.
We are here in the Mile High City at last for the 2011 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show. Despite all the weather issues this week, attendance looks to be pretty good for this annual meeting of the 
The media room is filled with all the usual suspects and from what we have heard, most everyone who planned to make it here did. Everyone is getting ready for the second general session to start here shortly, with the main attraction being former White House advisor Karl Rove.
Foglesong advised the attendees to reflect on 2010 successes but focus on possibilities for 2011. 
It’s easy to think that in the land of the plenty, everyone has consistent access to high-quality, nourishing foods, like beef. However, according to the USDA, in 2009, more than 50 million Americans were food insecure and did not have consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle. 
If I can get to Denver in time I hope to meet and interview our National Beef Ambassadors. They’re pictured here with Daren Williams, 
At the recent AG CONNECT Expo I spoke with Ryan Molitor, Raven Applied Technologies Marketing Supervisor (pictured left). This is the precision ag division of the company. Here’s what Ryan says about their sponsorship.