Leader’s Letter

Challenges? What Challenges?

By Todd Schroeder

Everyone in the cattle business faces daily challenges; some are as old as the business itself. We all spend time battling Mother Nature to keep calves alive, to get feed to cattle or to get trucks to ship cattle during a winter storm. Mother Nature is a force we can’t control, yet we spend time preparing our operations to deal with the problems she may throw at us.

The entire agriculture industry, including the cattle business, faces the challenge of diminishing understanding of our business by the consumer. As people become more disconnected from agriculture, opposition groups are telling stories about our products to  consumers. Claims that we are not caring for animals properly or our practices may be harming the environment or that our product is not safe or healthy are becoming more prevalent and dangerous. As seen throughout history, American media has a significant influence on the consumer.

While we are used to dealing with traditional issues, it is the people speaking out against our industry who potentially pose the most harm for the next generation of American cattlemen. Not only do these groups have mammoth financial war chests to support their agendas, but they have monitors at the local level, lobbyists at the state and national levels, attorneys fighting for their agendas and a significant presence in the media.

To this day, I have a hard time believing what the COOL issue has done to our industry. COOL was almost successful in dividing our industry, even though there were points that many of us agreed on. Instead of focusing on where we agreed, we chose to focus on where we disagreed. This makes no sense and certainly negatively reflected the industry to our elected lawmakers across the nation. In this business where we still pride ourselves on our word, our handshake and our trust in one another, we were not sending MIXED messages to Washington, D.C. but OPPOSING messages.

It’s time to gather the troops! This certainly isn’t a new song and not even a new verse, but it is again time to sing our song loudly and proudly.

The future of the beef industry in Nebraska looks very bright as we look at the resources we possess – abundant feed supplies, good, clean water and vast grasslands. Nebraska ranks second in commercial cattle slaughter in the United States. We have a solid land grant university and a strong community college system in Nebraska to help prepare young people for careers in agriculture. Combine these factors with individuals who are passionate about the industry and we have a recipe that will ensure our survival and success in beef production.

We must also survive the onslaught of groups and individuals who believe they understand our business better than we do. We need to have a strong organization that represents the beef producer with a common voice. Whether it is presence at a local zoning meeting as was evidenced recently in Cuming County or to our congressional delegation during a recent trip to Washington, D.C., a unified message is critical. As individuals, none of us has the time or money to fight the well-organized opposition, but together we have a chance to succeed.

Don’t get me wrong – there will always be disagreements among NC membership; these disagreements are healthy and necessary. One of NC’s jobs is to take on tough issues and provide a forum that allows everyone to voice and defend their positions. At the end of the day, some things may or may not go the direction you think they should. It is important, however, to gain agreement where possible and move forward. If it doesn’t go the way you think it should, don’t get mad. Get involved and stay involved. The world isn’t always run by the most qualified, but by those who show up. Your association is no different.

As you are thinking about how you will better handle the storms during the next calving season or how you will try to get better performance out of cattle in the feedyard during bad weather, I hope that you will give some time and consideration to the things we CAN change and become a more active member of Nebraska Cattlemen.  Y  Todd Schroeder, Wisner, is NC vice president.