December 2, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Department of Livestock Keeps Watchful Eye on Canadian Tuberculosis Cases

The Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) is actively monitoring the bovine tuberculosis (TB) investigation in Canada. In late September, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) initiated an epidemiological investigation after bovine TB was detected in a Canadian cow at a United States (US) slaughter facility.

As of December 2, 2016, there are six confirmed cases of bovine TB in Canada, including the index animal detected at slaughter in the US. Of the roughly 40 premises currently under quarantine, most are located in Southeast Alberta with about five premises in Saskatchewan. DOL has long standing requirements that cattle coming from Canada need to be tested for TB prior to import.

“Despite what feels like close proximity of this incident, Montana cattle producers remain safe,” said Montana State Veterinarian, Marty Zaluski. “Canada’s vigorous response, combined with our requirement that Canadian cattle be TB tested before entering Montana, keeps the risk low for ranchers in the state.”

Zaluski is not planning to place additional requirements on Canadian cattle coming to Montana at this time. “I am closely monitoring CFIA’s efforts and am ready to act aggressively if needed,” said Zaluski.

Historically, DOL has recognized the efforts of other state and provincial animal health officials to effectively deal with disease events, and expects the same in return.

CFIA policy requires that all positive animals and any animals exposed to positive animals be humanely destroyed. All exposed animals will be tested first and those that test negative will be eligible to enter the food supply. At this time approximately 10,000 cattle are to be destroyed. The strain of TB identified in the index case closely resembles a strain associated with cattle in Central Mexico, suggesting that wildlife are an unlikely source.

The mission of the DOL is to control and eradicate animal diseases, prevent the transmission of animal diseases to humans, and to protect the livestock industry from theft and predatory animals. For more information on the department, visit www.liv.mt.gov.

MSGA has been closely monitoring the recent TB outbreak in Canada. We have corresponded with State Veterinarian, Dr. Martin Zaluski, DVM and the Montana Congressional Delegation in D.C.. We are feeling confident at this time, that Canada’s aggressive response to the outbreak is the right approach and that Montana’s cattle herd should not be impacted.  

November 17, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Montana Stockgrowers to Host 132nd Annual Convention in Billings

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Ranchers head to Magic City to attend convention and set policy for upcoming year

December 7-9. Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) will celebrate 132 years of serving the state’s ranchers with their Annual Convention & Trade Show. This year’s meetings at the Radisson Hotel in Billings will host a trade show, educational workshops, policy meetings, over $100,000 in prizes and live music.

“It is time to make plans to attend the Annual Convention in Billings. Greet old friends and meet new ones while you work together to discuss important issues and set policy to guide your leadership for the 2017 legislative session,“ says MSGA President, Gene Curry from Valier.  “While there you will have opportunity to listen to informative speakers and educational programs. You will also have a chance to bid on a John Deere Gator, win a lease on a Massey tractor or drive home a new Ford truck!”

NCBA President, Tracy Brunner will be the featured speaker during Thursday’s Opening General Session.

A broad range of educational workshops will be offered during the Stockgrowers College. Speakers will touch on topics of vaccination programs, calf health and nutrition, calf management, antibiotic use, Grizzly Bear management, UAV’s in agriculture, DNA technology, livestock marketing, risk management and estate planning.

Each night of Annual Convention will feature viewing of the NFR on the big screens. Thursday night will include the second NFR Calcutta at MSGA Annual Convention, benefiting the Montana Stockgrowers’ Foundation. Friday night will feature live music from Insufficient Funds Band.

Friday’s Grand Finale Banquet will be highlighted by the annual live auction for Cattle Directory Priority Page advertisements. Over $100,000 in prizes will be awarded including a Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup and a Massey Ferguson tractor lease.

Policy meetings will take place on Wednesday and Thursday of Annual Convention. Guest speakers will address a number of topics affecting Montana’s ranching communities during the past year and in months to come. They will set policy and priorities for the upcoming Legislative Session. A Trade Show with over 100 booth spaces will be open to the public Thursday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

A full meeting agenda, hotel information, details of policy meeting discussions and Stockgrowers College workshops is available on the MSGA website at www.mtbeef.org. Online and discounted registration closes Thursday, December 1. On-site registration will be available starting December 7. For more information, contact the Montana Stockgrowers Association at (406) 442-3420.

 

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The Montana Stockgrowers Association, a non-profit organization representing nearly 2,500 members, strives to serve, protect and advance the economic, political, environmental and cultural interests of cattle producers, the largest sector of Montana’s number one industry – agriculture.

October 28, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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CME Working Group Update

Jim Fryer

Written by Jim Fryer | Hobson, MT

Our cattle industry is going through one of the most dramatic price declines in decades. Similar events are also occurring across many different commodities, from wheat to oil. Several years of record high prices building upon momentum from the previous decade have led to a surge in supplies. At the same time, macroeconomic conditions throughout the world face challenges we have yet to fully grasp. We know full well, in our industry, that it takes longer for our biological process to ramp production. This has left many reeling from overall deflation while the expansion of the cowherd has only just begun.

Lying in the middle of this malaise are the futures markets where a variety of firms anticipate forward prices for our commodity products. Price volatility is running higher than the last 30-40 years and many cattle buyers struggle with 5-10% price changes, both up and down, in short timeframes. Price bids in the country reflect the same uncertainty. This action incited the NCBA to expand their Cattle Marketing and International Trade Committee to identify problems and advocate changes with the CME’s live cattle futures contract. The NCBA accepted Montana Stockgrowers’ recommendation that I join the CME Working Group. It is an honor to be chosen to represent our industry in such a significant endeavor.

Our group assembled in early August with 26 members including Craig Uden, NCBA President-elect, as the chair. We divided into three subgroups: 1) Contract Specifications, 2) Price Discovery and 3) Price Volatility. Each subgroup conferenced several times to organize and prioritize issues within each component. I joined the Price Volatility subcommittee tasked with evaluating short-term price change and identifying pitfalls.
Following remote efforts and teleconferencing, our entire working group met in Washington D.C. during the first week of October. Our goal was to present our concerns and requests to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture. The CFTC is the self-regulating agency supervising the CME while the Committee on Agriculture oversees the CFTC. The CME also traveled to D.C. to present price action data and information that the NCBA requested earlier this year.

Intention is one major theme that my subcommittee and I carried to D.C. Of the approximate 50,000 semi loads of fat cattle that trade daily in Chicago, there are many more bids to buy and offers to sell (quotes). The intention of honoring that specific bid or offer at that precise price is unknown.
Often, the bid-offer will disappear in microseconds. We want a clear answer from the CME that each bid-offer has the intention to fulfill true price discovery. Lack of intention (spoofing) is an illegal practice used by malign entities to disrupt real prices. I agree the CME must effectively enforce current spoofing rules and increase the punishment for illegal actions.

The contract specifications group is working to balance quality grades of the futures contract with industry standards. Evolution in feeding practices and technology in general has slowly pushed beef production into more choice grade carcasses. This group will be working with the CME to increase the number of choice cattle per semi load while advocating for a dynamic contract that will further reflect industry changes in a more timely fashion.

Another major component of our economic condition is price discovery. This theme runs in every current of our beef and cattle industries. The subcommittee tasked with this topic is pushing for more transparency and frequency of negotiated cash trade. As more cattle go on formula and industry average base contracts, the number of cattle setting the price foundation is dwindling. Several key players throughout the Midwest will be listing their cattle on Superior Livestock’s new Fed Cattle Exchange. This venue allows sellers of fat cattle to interact real-time with packers bidding on showlists in a public domain.

Currently, the auction is held mid morning on Wednesday to avoid a last minute rush to price cattle late on Friday after the futures market is closed for the week. As participation increases, it is likely another auction will be held on Tuesday or Thursday. That threshold is within reach following this week’s record participation.

From our meeting in Washington D.C., it is clear that our industry is getting attention. The CFTC stated our comments reflect similar conversations with other industries and that we should continue pushing for resolve with the CME. It is also encouraging to see more fat cattle going on a transparent showlist that has active packer bids. This is perhaps the single greatest opportunity. Let’s ensure we are setting the best price possible for all our formula and base contracts. We must dedicate more volume to the price setting process. At the same time, we will keep pressure on the CME to ensure malignant participants cannot place orders with no intention of honoring. I will have more information on our progress in the coming months.

In response to the recent market volatility, MSGA nominated Jim Fryer of Hobson, MT to serve on the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) / Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) working group. This working group has been tasked with investigating inconsistencies in the cash cattle market and ensuring a level playing field for all market participants. Jim Fryer lives in Hobson, MT with his wife, Heather, and their three children. Jim has decades of experience working in cattle and beef cash markets. For five years he handled global trading for Cargill including direct interaction with major hedge funds and exchanges. He has years of risk management and futures trading experience which makes him a key asset to discovering the cause behind the market volatility. For any questions about the NCBA/CME working group, please contact the MSGA office.

October 24, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Update from MSGA President Gene Curry

Gene Curry

As I sit down to write this article it occurs to me that this will be my last article in the newsletter as your president. That thought comes with extremely mixed emotions! I have tremendously enjoyed my time representing you all in the ten years in leadership of this outstanding organization. Whenever I am asked about my role in MSGA, I always respond by saying that I get to work for the best bosses in the state. It is an honor to represent MSGA whether it be in DC, at a NCBA function, in meetings with state government officials, legislators, or at a local affiliate meeting and I always try to keep in mind that I am there representing all of you, not just myself. I have truly enjoyed every minute spent serving our industry in this “very large” state and will miss those opportunities. That being said, I know this organization will be in good hands with Bryan Mussard as your new president.

Monday the 10th we woke up to our first taste of winter here in northern Montana with over 6 inches of new snow here in Valier and about a foot west of town at Jeremy’s. It snowed off and on all day and we had another inch overnight. Like some of you, I am never as ready as I should be for winter and hopefully this is just the proverbial shot over the bow and Mother Nature will give us more time to prepare. Most of the calves are still on the cows and some are still west on summer pasture, but it sounds like the end of the week will be better.

I am still attending the BOL meetings and have offered to help any way I can in the upcoming legislative session to be sure the DOL budget gets through the legislature with enough money to provide the services the livestock industry expects and deserves. We all know that money will be tight this year, but I believe that with the present board and administrators we have in the department, the proposed budget will be accurate and much easier to defend. Getting General Fund money for the diagnostic lab will be crucial to having a budget that fits the needs of the industry. I expect at the next BOL meeting we will see the results of an analysis of the lab budget by Dr. Layton, Executive Officer Honeycutt, and Vice-chair John Scully. They are looking at the fee schedule and doing a cost analysis of various procedures to determine what costs can be attributed to human health. This information will be very valuable when defending the budget request.

Wayne Slaght, Jay Bodner, and I are still working with FWP on the Grizzly Bear issues that are expanding out of traditional Grizzly habitat onto surrounding farm and ranch land and into communities. As much as we all would like to see the Grizzly stay in the mountains, this potential conflict is not going away and in my opinion will only continue to escalate until the Grizzly is delisted. Even then, with the rules that will be in place upon delisting, I am not sure we will see much improvement. My one hope is that somehow we can re-instill a fear of humans that it seems the bears have lost. We are working on a list of mitigation procedures that some of us can use to reduce the potential for conflict. I know that the Rocky Mountain Front is not the only area that is seeing an increase in Grizzly activity and we intend to be involved wherever the potential for conflict exists. Just contact the office and we will share any information and help in any way we can.

I am looking forward to attending as many local meetings as I can this fall, so get your date into the office as soon as you can so we can schedule someone to attend. It is always rewarding for me to hear from members at these local events, to update you on what MSGA is doing for you, and to find out what else you would like us to do.

The Annual Convention is approaching fast and will be here before we know it. The date, as most of you know, is December 7-9 and the change you need to note is that this year we run from Wednesday through Friday instead of our traditional Thursday through Saturday. Hope to see you all there!

 

A big thank you to President Gene Curry for his service and commitment to not only MSGA but also Montana’s ranching industry as a whole. Be on the lookout this week for more information on the nominees for the MSGA Board of Directors.

October 5, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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MSU to honor Jim Hagenbarth as Outstanding Agricultural Leader

BOZEMAN — Jim Hagenbarth of Hagenbarth Livestock in Dillon has been named the 2016 Outstanding Agricultural Leader on behalf of Montana State University’s College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station. The public is invited to congratulate Hagenbarth at a Montana-made breakfast to be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, in MSU’s South Gym of the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center during the college’s annual Celebrate Agriculture event scheduled for Nov. 11-12 at MSU.

MSU Vice President of Agriculture Charles Boyer said Hagenbarth is a successful and respected agriculture leader for Montana and a great example for current university agriculture students.

“Jim Hagenbarth represents some of the very best of Montana agriculture: commitment to the stewardship of land, resources and people and an impressive dedication to public service,” Boyer said. “We’re pleased to honor Jim with this award, not only for his family’s successful livestock and ranching business, but because he has worked tirelessly to engage in difficult conversations and processes at local and national levels, to find common ground among diverse voices and agendas. In agriculture, that is not easy.”

The award is given annually to individuals or couples who are engaged and well-respected in the state’s agricultural community. Recipients are those who have impacted many with their accomplishments, have a lifetime of achievement in agriculture, are industry leaders or innovative producers and are actively involved in the agricultural community.

Hagenbarth exhibits outstanding leadership in agricultural and public service to Montana and MSU, according to members of the selection committee. The Montana Stockgrowers Association and the MSU Department of Animal and Range Sciences nominated Hagenbarth for the award. Letters of support for his nomination were received from the United States Department of Agriculture, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Department of Natural Resource Conservation and a host of Montana ranchers.

Nominators said Hagenbarth is well-respected among livestock ranchers, wildlife and fisheries biologists, government agencies, special interest groups and watershed groups. They add that he has been an exemplary, composed leader in contentious and high-stakes natural resource discussions and as a farm and ranch policy advocate for Montana producers. He has also successfully forged private and public partnerships in species management protection and for natural resources at state and national levels.

Perhaps Hagenbarth’s most notable influence, according to support letters, is his work with the Montana citizens working group for the Interagency Bison Management Plan, a cooperative, multi-agency effort that guides the management of bison and brucellosis in and around Yellowstone National Park. His work with this effort led him to testify before the U.S. Congress regarding Montana’s cattle and bison interactions, particularly surrounding the brucellosis disease. Additionally, Hagenbarth has lobbied in Washington, D.C. for the Big Hole Watershed Committee, of which he was a founding member and currently serves as vice president. His dedication to the Upper Snake Sage-Grouse Local Working Group resulted in a 38-page plan drafted between citizen ranchers and state and federal agencies to increase sage-grouse populations in the upper Snake River region of Idaho. He has also been an invited speaker to numerous national conventions, including National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the First National Bison Symposium.

Hagenbarth is a volunteer on the Montana Board of Livestock, National Cattlemen’s Association and the USDA-ARS Forage and Range Research lab in Logan, Utah. He has served as a research advisory council member of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station and is active in the Knights of Columbus, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Montana Stockgrowers Association and the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church.

Hagenbarth’s family history in Montana’s sheep and cattle industries dates back to statehood, when Hagenbarth’ s grandfather managed 150,000 sheep and 500,000 cattle on nearly two million acres of range. Hagenbarth’s family still owns and manages the 120 year-old cattle ranch today.

Hagenbarth received a bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Notre Dame before returning to work on his family’s ranch.

Hagenbarth and his wife, Laurie, have three adult children: Mark, John and Kate.

The selection committee for the Outstanding Agricultural Leader award is comprised of three Montana agriculture representatives, a College of Agriculture faculty member and an MSU student. MSU’s College of Agriculture has presented Outstanding Agricultural Leader awards since 1999.

Contact: Susan Fraser, 994-3601, [email protected]

September 23, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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China Lifts Ban on U.S. Beef

After 13 years of closed access, the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) welcomed the news of the Chinese government lifting the ban on the import of U.S. beef. As one of the largest importers of beef, exports to China will open up new opportunities for Montana ranchers.

China’s imports have risen dramatically, reaching a record $2.3 billion in 2015. USDA forecasts that China will surpass Japan as the second-largest beef importer with imports estimated at 825,000 tons in 2016. Rapidly rising demand for beef has made China the fastest-growing beef market in the world.

Montana Stockgrowers President, Gene Curry of Valier notes, “This news comes at a time when the markets are at the top of mind for every cattle producer. China is home to one-fifth of the global population and a major importer of protein, we look forward to providing China with high quality beef. On behalf of our membership, I would like to personally thank Senator Daines and Ambassador Baucus for their work in opening this exciting new market.”

This past May, MSGA sent a letter to Vice-Premier Zhang that was hand delivered by U.S. Senator Steve Daines. The letter promoted Montana beef’s quality and encouraged lifting the ban on U.S. beef.

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The Montana Stockgrowers Association, a non-profit organization representing nearly 2,500 members, strives to serve, protect and advance the economic, political, environmental and cultural interests of cattle producers, the largest sector of Montana’s number one industry – agriculture.

September 8, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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NCBA Works to Address Market Volatility

Colin Woodall, NCBA Vice President of Government Affairs, discusses NCBA’s efforts to ensure the futures markets work for risk management. MSGA member Jim Fryer of Hobson, MT was appointed to the NCBA/CME Working Group this summer. This group has been engaged on many levels to address the market volatility. Check out the podcast below to learn more.

 

July 15, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Montana’s Cherry Creek Ranch Receives Regional Environmental Stewardship Award

Montana Stockgrowers Association members win Regional Environmental Stewardship Award

DENVER (July 15, 2016) – Cherry Creek Ranch, Terry, Mont., was honored this week as one of six regional Environmental Stewardship Award Program winners. The award, which is sponsored by Dow AgroSciences, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation, is presented to farmers and ranchers who are working hard to protect America’s natural resources.

The commercial cow-calf operation, located in eastern Montana, is one of the few remaining original homesteads, a fact that instills pride in Lon and Vicki Reukauf, the third generation to operate the ranch. That legacy also drives the management philosophy for the Reukauf’s, who place a strong emphasis on rotational grazing as a way to manage pastures and maintain soil health.

“For three generations we wake up every morning with the intention to get out of bed and have great intentions to improving the land and the landscape for our cattle and always putting their needs ahead of our own,” said Vicki Reukauf, who explained that the region’s silt soils mean the family needs to pay special attention to building root mass to help improve the soil and improve the water-holding capacity of the ground.

With an annual average rainfall of about 12.5 inches, keeping water on the land is a priority. One way they do that is by employing a rotational grazing system to help improve water infiltration into the soil. In 1983, Lon instituted a rotational grazing system and today rotates herds through multiple pastures to ensure grazing pressure is optimally distributed while also allowing a stockpile of forage for dry years.

“We felt that by having cattle on land for less time and giving it longer rest periods, we accomplished an increase in both species diversity and grass production and especially root depth on the plants that existed,” said Lon Reukaf. “I think by increasing the organic root depth of the plants you increase the organic matter in the soil. And I think it increases your water holding capacity in your soil and also having significant litter and good root mass in the ground makes the plants more efficiently utilize the moisture that you’ve got and lose less of that moisture to evaporation.”

Water distribution across the ranch also contributes to the successful implementation of stewardship practices of the Reukaufs. In fact, the family has installed 15 wells in strategic locations to provide the cattle with clean, fresh, consistent water, and they are slowly converting the wells to run off solar energy. So far, they have four done and plan to complete two more each year until they are all solar-powered. These tanks also help to pull animals away from lower riparian areas,” Lon said. “Putting this water in less sensitive areas is one of the single best factors in having a lot of species biodiversity in our plant community.”

Regional award recipients will now compete for the national Environmental Stewardship Award. The winner of the national award will be announced during the 2017 Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, Tenn., in February, 2017.

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The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has represented America’s cattle producers since 1898, preserving the heritage and strength of the industry through education and public policy.  As the largest association of cattle producers, NCBA works to create new markets and increase demand for beef.  Efforts are made possible through membership contributions. To join, contact NCBA at 1-866-BEEF-USA or [email protected].

June 24, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Montana Stockgrowers Association sends two attendees to elite cattle industry conference

Representing Montana Stockgrowers Association, Ariel Overstreet-Adkins and Andy Kellom participated in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s 2016 Young Cattlemen’s Conference. Over 50 cattle producers from across the country and across the industry attended the conference.

Andy

Andy Kellom hales from Hobson, MT. He is currently cattle manager for Bos Terra LP which is a 15,000 head feedlot and up to 7,000 head stocker operation. Andy is responsible for day-to-day cattle management.

Andy was born and raised in Dubois, Idaho. He was involved with his family’s ranch from a young age.  Andy’s love of the beef cattle business started here, as well as days working on many neighboring family ranches in the area.

Andy attended Montana State University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science in 2002. From there he worked on the cowboy crew of the 1.5 million acre IL Ranch in northern Nevada.  He then spent two years as head cowboy for Harris Feeding Company which is a 100,000+ head feedlot and vertically integrated beef operation in Coalinga, California. Andy then became involved with the Montana Beef Network which was an MSU extension program that dealt mainly with Animal ID as it related to Montana ranchers. Andy was instrumental in the startup of Verified Beef LLC which is a company that at the time offered Source and Age, NHTC, and Never Ever 3 Natural certifications to cow- calf operations throughout Montana and surrounding states.

Ariel

Ariel Overstreet-Adkins is a 2016 graduate of the University of Montana School of Law. Ariel’s article “Extraordinary Protections for the Industry that Feeds Us: Examining a Potential Constitutional Right to Farm and Ranch in Montana,” was published by the Montana Law Review in February. In August, she will begin a yearlong clerkship for a U.S. District Court. Then she will work as an associate attorney at the Moulton Bellingham law firm in Billings, focusing on ag, water, property, and natural resource law.

Ariel was named a W.D. Farr Scholar by the National Cattlemen’s Foundation in 2014. Prior to law school, Ariel served as director of communications and lobbyist for the Montana Stockgrowers Association for five years. She graduated from Princeton University with a degree in cultural anthropology where her senior thesis was entitled: “Growing Up Cowboy: High School Rodeo in Montana.” Ariel grew up on her family’s horse ranch in Big Timber.

She and her husband, Zac, raise a few acres of alfalfa in Helena. Ariel is currently serving as vice president of the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame & Western Heritage Center.

NCBA’s YCC program is an opportunity for these young leaders to gain an understanding of all aspects of the beef industry from pasture to plate, and showcase the industry’s involvement in policy making, issues management, research, education and marketing.

Beginning at the NCBA headquarters in Denver, Colo., the group got an inside look at many of the issues affecting the beef industry and the work being done on both the state and national level to address these issues on behalf of the NCBA membership. While in Denver, participants were given an organizational overview of NCBA and the Beef Checkoff Program and CattleFax provided a comprehensive overview of the current cattle market and emerging trends. At Safeway, the participants received a first-hand account of the retail perspective of the beef business and then toured the JBS Five Rivers’ Kuner feedyard, one of the largest in the nation, and the JBS Greeley packing and processing plant.

From Denver, the group traveled to Chicago where they visited McDonald’s Campus and OSI, one of the nation’s premiere beef patty producers. After the brief stop in Chicago, the group concluded their trip in Washington D.C., for an in-depth issues briefing on current policy issues including international trade and increasing environmental regulations. Following the issues update, the participants were given the opportunity to visit one-on-one with members of their state’s congressional delegation, expressing their viewpoints regarding the beef industry and their cattle operations. John Deere then hosted a reception in the evening at their office.

The following morning, the group then traveled to Aldie, Va., for a tour and barbecue at Whitestone Farms, one of the nation’s elite purebred Angus operations.

With the beef industry changing rapidly, identifying and educating leaders has never been so important. As a grassroots trade association representing the beef industry the NCBA is proud to play a role in that process and its future success. Over 1,000 cattlemen and women have graduated from the YCC program since its inception in 1980. Many of these alumni have gone to serve in state and national committees, councils and boards. YCC is the cornerstone of leadership training in the cattle industry.

June 21, 2016 Comments are off Montana Stockgrowers Association
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Leadership Series | Guest Blog Post | Shaelyn Meyer

Written by Shaelyn Meyer

 

Shaelyn

Being a part of the Montana Stockgrowers Leadership Series has challenged me in so many ways; some more personal than I feel comfortable sharing with the world. I will share a few personal details about why this has been an impactful program for me: It’s a very, VERY huge responsibility to be heard. It’s something that I’ve always shied away from. It’s scary! When you step up to be heard you’re opening yourself up to attack from anyone who might flat out disagree or just misinterpret what you’re saying. Let’s face it, what you SAY, is often not at all what people HEAR. Effective communication takes skill, skill comes from practice, and practice is best performed with coaching. I’m being coached through the MSGA Leadership Series.

Another thing I’ve realized since I started paying more attention to advocacy and leadership is that people are getting tired of being misinformed and they’re tired of disrespect. The agriculture industry is under attack and being taken for granted. We in the ag industry aren’t innocent of disrespect however: can you remember a time when you’ve reacted to someone’s criticism of agriculture with sarcasm (aka disrespect)? I think we’re all guilty of that.

First we have to listen. We have to identify the values we have in common with our audience. In our case, our audience is consumers of food… so basically everyone; that’s not a monumental task at all. Let’s simplify: I think, in general, consumers want to know that we aren’t degrading the land and that we are treating our animals with respect. How can we show that we hold those values as well and do it in a way that people will listen? That, in a nutshell, is what advocacy is all about. It’s about conveying values and respecting people. Showing respect for others is difficult in the face of some of the tactics used by animal rights groups for example, but I know that it’s absolutely the only way that we’ll gain respect from consumers.

Through the skills I’m practicing in the Leadership Series program, I am better able to approach both sides of the issue with a desire to first understand and then respond in a clear, concise way that people can appreciate and understand. My role as an MSU Extension Agent, puts me in a position to work with both producers on quality assurance and sustainable land management AND be a credible source of information for consumers. It’s a responsibility I want to be prepared as possible for.

Considering the changes that agriculture has made in just the past 50 years, and that the average American is at least 3 generations removed from farming, it’s apparent that people are struggling to catch up and understand why agriculture has changed. Combined with misinformation and anti-ag propaganda, it’s no wonder people are confused and angry. Let’s have patience and understanding and know that we can step in and lift the curtain and let people see what agriculture is really like in Montana. It’s a beautiful thing.

The Leadership Series is made possible through the support of MSGA’s Research Education and Endowment Foundation. Want to learn more about our Leadership Series? Check out the website or email [email protected].