He’s a western Illinois cattle and hog producer and also has a feed yard. He’s Steve Foglesong, President of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. I spoke with Steve today for our series on the proposed GIPSA rule making. The picture is Steve during a press conference at this summer’s Cattle Industry Conference.
He says that when you read the proposed rule the first time it makes you say, “Yeah, that’s really good.” But he goes on to say that when you step back and analyze it you realize how broad it is and that it includes things that beef and pork producers have fought against for years. Then Steve says, “There are some very good pieces that are in this rule. The poultry part is pretty good and there’s some other stuff in there about fairness and things like that but in its entirety this thing because it is so broad and so far reaching is a bad rule because it puts the government in charge of the market place. Let’s take it apart, let’s get rid of this and then bring some pieces of it up one at a time and I think we can deal with some of those and do all the producers some good that way.”
Steve also talks about the unintended consequences of the rule in its proposed form. One of them is his concern about the packers telling producers that they won’t accept the liability called for in the proposed rule when it comes to special pricing contracts. “They’ll just level the playing field and pay a standard price for all cattle irrespective of quality. Ultimately it’s going to be consumers that will suffer because consumers have driven us into this quality situation.”
Listen to my interview with Steve here: Steve Foglesong Interview
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the National Pork Producers Association are working to inform producers about the potential consequences of the proposed rule and encouraging them to make comments.
Mike Rowe, the creator and executive producer of Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe,” 
“We are excited to have Mike Rowe as our keynote speaker,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “Like farmers and ranchers, he’s not afraid to roll-up his shirt sleeves and get his hands dirty. Mike understands that most things that contribute to our standard of living—such as abundant food—are the result of someone else’s hard work, dedication and skill, not magic. I think Farm Bureau members will get a lot out of his message.”
A luncheon in Kansas City Monday with the 
To top it all off, we got to hear a fantastic speaker – Voice of the Kansas City Chiefs, Mitch Holthus. Mitch was a first class act who was able to relate to the NAFB members on several levels, since he is both a Kansas farm boy and a broadcaster. His inspiring, funny and endearing talk was based on the letters in the word FARM – Finish what you begin, have Accountability, be Resilient and Make a footprint.
Go to the 
Mark’s personal opinion is that markets work when given the chance and that government interference in the market will hurt the U.S. livestock industry, especially when it comes to competing on a global scale. “Today we’re exporting one out of every four or five pigs that’s produced, so we really are in a global marketplace,” he said.
The National Agri-Marketing Association will be holding it’s fall 
I have to believe that 
The 
Colin says it is important for producers to not only read the rule, but to understand the implications and interpretation of it. “We’ve got a lot of 
Have you cast your vote for your 
But your favorite market needs to be signed up for the contest in order for you to vote for them. I found that out today when I went to vote for our local Cole County (MO) Farmers Market, which sets up three times a week in the Kmart parking lot on Missouri Boulevard. I was pretty bummed to find out they were not in the running at all, since it is nice to visit them each week and get fresh, homegrown produce. I guess they would be in the “boutique” category, since they normally have less than 15 vendors.