Pearl Snaps

Stories of a cowgirl living life by her own lights

Tag Archives: beef industry


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Beef, We Have a Problem

By Jesse Bussard

Earlier this month in my Feedstuffs column I discussed how challenges and the new ideas people present to solve them are what fuels progress:

New ideas are hard for people to accept. Change is scary, unfamiliar and uncertain. We humans like security and, more times than not, will choose the tried-and-true method over one we are unsure of.

In certain circumstances, this reasoning holds clout, but in the overall realm of progress, it can also hold us back.

It has been said that the most damaging phrase in the language is: “It’s always been done that way.” Sadly, I find this phrase an all-too-common utterance by many in agriculture.

As luck would have it, I was proven right on agriculture’s aversion to new ideas and change by several experiences had by my good friend and California rancher, Megan Brown. Megan is a passionate woman. She loves agriculture, cattle ranching, and helping people understand her love and passion for these things. However, even more impressive than her passion, is Megan’s audacity and persistence to make a difference in the realm of things she holds dear.

Megan’s experiences have all dealt with an industry organization, the California Beef Council (CBC), that is meant to support and assist cattle ranchers like Megan and to educate the public about the various facets of beef from gate to plate. I’m not going to go into the nitty-gritty about Megan’s experiences with CBC. You can read about CBC’s apparent aversion to being transparent about beef slaughter and Megan’s attempt to extend an olive branch offering her time and effort to help this organization become better at communicating with the public on her blog, The Beef Jar.

Megan’s September 14th posting sharing her disappointment in CBC and offers to help make the organization better went on to cause some concern in her local community. The leaders of her county cattlemen’s group even went as far as to put Megan’s blog on the agenda for discussion. Like any good agvocate, Megan viewed this as an opportunity to share her vision and passion for the cattle industry and how she goes about sharing her passion with the group.

Ideally one in this situation would hope to be met with open minds and earnest conversation about ways to improve their local cattlemen’s association’s outreach efforts and those of the CBC’s.  Instead, Megan was given the cold shoulder and the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” mentality won over.

Now I realize I wasn’t there and I may not know the whole story. But, I too am as passionate about the agriculture and cattle ranching as Megan and what she is going through with these industry groups, well, to put it plainly…IT PISSES ME OFF!

You see, myself and others in my generation are supposed to be the future leaders in agriculture. We are told this time and again by those currently leading these industry groups. They praise us for our efforts the majority of the time. However, in the instant that we challenge the common ‘norms and beliefs’ accepted, as in Megan’s case, we are asked to be silent, to not share this or that, to take down blog posts, to act as though certain parts of our industry do not exist.

How does this sort of action do anything to truly provide transparency about our industry to our customers? And, ultimately, how does it help to encourage my generation to continue to be involved in such industry organizations, if in the end we are just going to be shut out and unheard?

I’ve been an active member of several cattle industry groups. I helped to form the first chapter of Collegiate Cattlewomen at Penn State University during my undergrad years there. I was a member of our state cattlemen’s and cattlewomen’s groups. When I moved to Kentucky for graduate school I became an active member of NCBA’s Young Producer’s Council and even served as Public Relations chair for a time. I also joined the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association and upon my suggestion, steps were taken to create the first ever Young Producers Council in the state.

If you can’t tell, I’m passionate about the beef community and the cattle business. I want to make a difference and I don’t plan to ever stop trying.

But the thing is, I can’t do it alone, and neither can Megan. We need the support of our current leaders. We need them to earnestly listen to us and consider with an open mind the ideas that we suggest. Just because “it’s always been done this way” doesn’t mean it always should or always will. A better way, a new idea, will come along and though it may scare the pants off of you at first, but you need to take a step back, quit hyperventilating, and LISTEN! Doing otherwise, doesn’t help any of us and only creates divides and distrust among our community.

So I’ll end this rant with a suggestion to the California Beef Council, the Butte County Cattlemen, and to any other beef industry organization out there reading this…give us, the young producers, a chance. Listen to our ideas, suggestions, and maybe sometimes even take us up on our offer. You might be surprised at what a difference we can make.

And I’ll leave you with this quote:

“All progress has resulted from people who took unpopular positions.” 

~ Adlai Stevenson

Related Posts:

More posts from me on ways to improve agriculture’s communication efforts:


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Hereford Breeders Respond to HSUS

via Hereford World Magazine

by Craig Huffhines, Executive Vice President, American Hereford Association

When you hear the words factory farming, what does that mean to you? If you were to define traditional beef cattle management practices, would any of those practices cause stress or cruelty to an animal? For those of us who have grown up on beef cattle farms and ranches, we acknowledge that some of our practices
inevitably induce stress, but none of the things we do are perceived by us as cruel or unusual treatment to livestock. After all, Dad and Granddad taught us that this was the way it is supposed to be done, but to others there are far different perceptions.

Political pressure built from “full-courtpress” lobbying, massive promotion and campaign contributions to legislative activists, and media blitzes is influencing a growing number of public sympathizers as it relates to humane handling. This movement is coming from a deep-pocketed organization that can and does influence the opinions of governmentthought leaders. That’s been the recipe of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

During the last decade, HSUS, the world’s largest animal advocacy group with reported assets of $160 million, has influenced agriculture legislation across the country. It is not just about dog and cat shelters as HSUS television commercials would have you believe. The organization has influenced legislators by convincing them that certain common animal handling and management practices are inhumane. The ultimate goal of HSUS is to eliminate or at least
reduce the consumption of meat and other animal-based foods and products.

Wayne Pacelle, HSUS CEO, openly announces his intentions from his HSUS blog. “The HSUS promotes eating with conscience and embracing the three Rs — reducing the consumption of meat and other animalbased foods; refining the diet by avoiding products from the worst production systems (e.g., switching to cage-free eggs); and replacing meat and other animal-based foods in the diet with plant-based foods.”

Pacelle goes on to write, “The HSUS is a big tent organization, and we support people who want to switch to more humanely
raised animal products, reduce the amount of meat in their diets, or try a vegetarian lifestyle — but the reduction of meat consumption is one of the best things we can do for the planet given how unsustainable the current levels of factory farming are.”

The HSUS’s underlying mission is where the battle will be fought. The perfect example of this is the dramatic negative impact  upon the equine industry that the U.S. horse slaughter ban has had.

Our challenge as beef producers and Hereford breeders is to define, scientifically justify and articulate our common management practices in an effort to get ahead of the HSUS machine. A sound defense of our management practices with
creative promotion in an aggressive, carefully crafted and understandable way may, at a minimum, cause those that are not in the know to question restrictive regulations that could force us out of business. This is not an appealing or interesting conversation, but it is a fact of life that threatens the very core of our business.

To read the full article click here.


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Game changers

Networking during a reception the opening night of the Symposium

The theme for the 27th Alltech Symposium was “The Game Changers.”  The idea behind the theme was to focus on new technologies and research to improve animal health and nutrition.  I was fortunate to be able to attend, as it was held right in my backyard, here in downtown Lexington, KY.  Speaker sessions covered several species including Dairy, Beef, Swine, Poultry, Equine, Companion Animals, and Aquaculture.  There were even special sessions on marketing and agricultural networking for business and media professionals.  I attended the beef speaker sessions.  You can find my overview of some of the speakers in my latest post on NCBA’s Young Producers Blog, The Cattle Call.

The Alltech Symposium was not only a great place to listen to speakers discuss some of the latest research that is going on to improve animal health and nutrition but also an excellent place to network with industry professionals from across the globe.  For example, during the last evening of the Symposium dinners were held for attendees.  Each attendee was assigned to a dinner with others interested in the same species.  I attended one of the Beef species dinners, where ironically we had chicken for dinner!  I ended up at a table with Bennie Welgemoed of Karan Beef Feedlot from Heidelberg, South Africa.  He manages the largest feedlot operation in South Africa.  Needless to say, I learned a lot about South African beef production that night and enjoyed every minute of it.  I think it’s really important to learn about how things are done in other countries and even just in other parts of our own countries.  Sometimes the knowledge we gain can be useful for us to improve our own production systems.

For more information about the Alltech Symposium you can visit Alltech’s Blog.

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