More than 6,000 people atttended the 2010 Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Trade Show. Taylor Brown provided the following coverage from San Antonio:
Montana's Bill Donald moves up to President-Elect
Wyoming's Scott George Elected Chairman of Federation Division
In San Antonio, Steve Foglesong, owner of Black Gold Ranch in Illinois, was officially elected to succeed Gary Voogt as NCBA’s new president. Former Vice President Bill Donald of Montana was confirmed as the new President-Elect, which means Donald will take the reins as NCBA President one year from now, at the association's 2011 meeting in Denver. Former Federation Division Chairman J.D. Alexander of Neb. was elected to succeed Donald as Vice President.
Scott George of Wyoming, was elected Federation Division Chairman; while David Dick, Missouri, was elected federation division vice chairman; Bruce Hafenfeld, California, policy division chairman; and Bob McCann, Texas, policy division vice chairman.
NCBA Members Approve New Organizational Structure Concept
In a landmark vote, the board approved a new organization structure, as presented by the Governance Task Force. The board also demonstrated confidence in NCBA by voting unanimously to approve a dues increase to help ensure the organization is on sound financial footing. Dues now start at $100 for cow-calf members. Feeder assessments increased from 10 cents to 12.5 cents per head. Earlier in the week, the Allied Industry Council also expressed its support of NCBA by voting to increase its member dues from $17,500 to $25,000.
The proposed change in governance was one of the biggest topics at this year's convention. When Taylor Brown asked Montana Stockgrowers First Vice-President Watty Taylor of Busby about the proposal, he was very supportive of the concept. Watty Taylor said he thinks the new structure will bring more transparency, and allow more producers to take part in deciding how their dollars are spent.
(CLICK HERE to listen to Watty Taylor interview.
On Saturday, the Board adopted the task force report by a 201-13 margin, putting in motion the creation of a new governance structure, which would feature a smaller NCBA Board of Directors and a new House of Delegates that would include the organization’s state affiliates, state beef councils, industry/breed organizations, and product/allied industry councils. The Federation of State Beef Councils would be housed within the House of Delegates, and continue to conduct its federation duties as specified in the Beef Promotion and Research Act & Order.
Specifics of the recommendation include:
- A Board of Directors that has 29 members, 26 of whom are elected by the House of Delegates. The Board, which has legal and fiduciary responsibility for the organization;
- A House of Delegates with a total of 250 votes. Of those votes, 106 would go to State Beef Councils, 106 to state affiliates, and 38 to industry and breed organizations, as well as the allied industry/product council;
- The Federation of State Beef Councils within the House of Delegates that elects a chair and vice chair and the eight other members to the Beef Promotion Operating Committee;
Committees approved by that board would make proposals to the House of Delegates. These committees would be comprised of NCBA members, members of member organizations and/or invited guests.
Jan Lyons of Kansas, Co-Chair of the Task force said they sought to maintain grassroots input and control of the organization. This is accomplished through the operations and structure of the House of Delegates, whose member organization votes will be weighted based on NCBA investment. They will vote on policy to be recommended to the Board of Directors, the policy-establishing body for the organization. Grassroots input will also be accomplished through committees of like-minded beef producers (such as cow-calf operators, feeders or those interested in beef demand), who will provide input to the House of Delegates.
According to John Queen, task force co-chair and a beef producer from North Carolina, the group was careful to develop recommendations that kept in mind the NCBA’s quest for an industry with one vision, one plan and one voice. It determined that current structure that includes a 274-member Board of Directors is unwieldy and makes authority and accountability within the organization more difficult.
“We wanted to make it easier for the Board to maneuver,” Queen says. “At the same time, NCBA has always sought to conduct our affairs the right way, utilizing checkoff dollars only for those programs for which they were intended. Our recommendation is legal and maintains the strict firewalls required by law for checkoff and non-checkoff dollars.” Queen says the recommendations comply with the Checkoff Act and Order. Legal counsel and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were consulted throughout the process.
The 21-member Task Force included both producer members and state organization staff interested in improving their national organization and the entire industry. Its recommendations were submitted to the NCBA Executive Committee in San Antonio, and discussed by the full Board of Directors today during its Annual Meeting.
Working groups will be established to take the structure concept and further develop bylaws, investment schedules and a transition timeline. Bylaw changes will be considered by the board at the Summer Conference in Denver this July. If bylaws are approved at that meeting, implementation of the structure would begin.
NCBA Policy Adopted
In addition to structural changes, members approved a number of policy recommendations to guide NCBA efforts in Washington, DC in 2010.
In the area of federal lands, property rights and land management, members approved policy calling for reform of the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). While EAJA was established by Congress to ensure that individuals, small businesses or public-interest groups with limited financial resources could seek judicial recourse from unreasonable government actions, a lack of federal oversight has allowed the Act to be abused, particularly by environmental-activist organizations which often target farmers and ranchers under the guise of "public interest." In a six-year period, non-profit environmental groups have filed more than 1,500 lawsuits and in turn the federal government has paid out billions in taxpayer dollars in settlements and legal fees under EAJA and other fee-shifting statutes in cases against the U.S. government.
Also with regards to federal lands, members approved policy to address the growing problem of wild horse and burro over-population, which has contributed to range degradation and reductions in biodiversity and livestock productivity. The policy calls for a comprehensive program—including fertility control, sex ratios, and other humane means of herd reduction—in accordance with the management options authorized to be used by the Bureau of Land Management.
With regard to international markets, members passed policy calling on NCBA to urge Congress to immediately ratify the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA)—one of the most important bilateral trade agreements in the history of the U.S. beef industry. According to South Korean Economic Minister Choi, who addressed attendees at this week’s economic markets committee meeting, U.S. competitors such as Australia are well on their way to finalizing free-trade agreements with Korea, putting U.S. competitiveness at risk for years to come.
In the area of cattle health, NCBA will pursue priorities and strategies regarding both the modification of the National Brucellosis Eradication Program and the eradication of brucellosis from the Greater Yellowstone Area. New policy also directs NCBA to work to maintain producers’ ability to keep their cattle healthy through the use of approved antibiotics.
All policies adopted are now subject to approval by more than 30,000 NCBA members nationwide. Convention results will become official after a mail-in ballot process concludes in March. For more convention news, visit: www.beefusa.org.
Increasing Foreign Demand for U.S. Beef
The lackluster domestic demand for beef has draw more attention to our OVERSEAS markets. Central Montana rancher Jim Peterson is the current President of the U.S. Meat Export Federation, and he says that demand will increase among Asian Customers, if we do three things. But he says emphatically that "the South Korean Model will NOT work" to open other countries to U.S. Beef.
(CLICK HERE to listen to Jim Peterson interview)