Tommy
Well-known member
Most recent rift between cattle groups began in the 1990s
By Steve Miller, Journal Staff Writer
The growing rift in the cattle and beef industry began coming to a head in 1999, although various livestock associations have been battling each other since the turn of the 20th century.
R-CALF was formed out of frustration with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association on the part of some of its members. Among them was Leo McDonnell, a Columbus, Mont., rancher who chafed when the group, in his view, wasn't battling hard enough on behalf of independent ranchers.
McDonnell, along with Herman Schumacher, a sale-barn operator from Herreid, and Kathleen Kelley of Meeker, Colo., founded the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund in 1998. McDonnell became its president. The group became a membership organization in 1999.
Meanwhile, in South Dakota, the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association had resisted suggestions in the mid-1990s to combine with the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, which is affiliated with the NCBA.
The Stockgrowers were becoming split, with some favoring what they saw as the more progressive philosophy of the NCBA and others complaining that the NCBA was favoring the feeders and big meatpacking companies over the interests of independent ranchers.
Stockgrowers' membership dipped to about 600 at its low point, according to current president Rick Fox of Hermosa.
Then, in February 2001, at a contentious meeting in Pierre, the Stockgrowers board of directors voted to drop the group's affiliation with NCBA and to affiliate instead with R-CALF.
The Stockgrowers president, executive director and several board members resigned.
Since then, however, Stockgrowers' membership has recovered, climbing to about 1,800.
R-CALF membership is now at 18,000 nationally, with about 4,000 members in South Dakota, Fox said. South Dakota is second only to Montana in R-CALF membership, according to R-CALF communications director Shae Dodson.
R-CALF gives one-year memberships to people who donate to the organization through calf auction fundraisers at area sale barns, Dodson said. But Dodson said the large membership reflects support within the state. Donors in South Dakota contributed $440,000 to R-CALF in 2005.
Stockgrowers executive director Carrie Stadheim also noted that R-CALF has developed a high public profile by fighting legal battles on a variety of issues.
SDCA membership had slipped for a number of years, but president Mike Stahly of Cavour says membership is rising again. Membership as of late February was about 1,000, according to SDCA executive director Jodie Hickman.
Membership has grown about 5 percent higher than a year ago, Hickman said.
NCBA membership nationally is about 25,000. NCBA has about 200 members in South Dakota.
The NCBA has its origins in the National Livestock Association, formed in 1898.
The SDCA was preceded by the formation in 1948 of the Yankton County Livestock Feeders and Growers Association, Hickman said.
The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association was formed in the early 1890s.
By Steve Miller, Journal Staff Writer
The growing rift in the cattle and beef industry began coming to a head in 1999, although various livestock associations have been battling each other since the turn of the 20th century.
R-CALF was formed out of frustration with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association on the part of some of its members. Among them was Leo McDonnell, a Columbus, Mont., rancher who chafed when the group, in his view, wasn't battling hard enough on behalf of independent ranchers.
McDonnell, along with Herman Schumacher, a sale-barn operator from Herreid, and Kathleen Kelley of Meeker, Colo., founded the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund in 1998. McDonnell became its president. The group became a membership organization in 1999.
Meanwhile, in South Dakota, the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association had resisted suggestions in the mid-1990s to combine with the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, which is affiliated with the NCBA.
The Stockgrowers were becoming split, with some favoring what they saw as the more progressive philosophy of the NCBA and others complaining that the NCBA was favoring the feeders and big meatpacking companies over the interests of independent ranchers.
Stockgrowers' membership dipped to about 600 at its low point, according to current president Rick Fox of Hermosa.
Then, in February 2001, at a contentious meeting in Pierre, the Stockgrowers board of directors voted to drop the group's affiliation with NCBA and to affiliate instead with R-CALF.
The Stockgrowers president, executive director and several board members resigned.
Since then, however, Stockgrowers' membership has recovered, climbing to about 1,800.
R-CALF membership is now at 18,000 nationally, with about 4,000 members in South Dakota, Fox said. South Dakota is second only to Montana in R-CALF membership, according to R-CALF communications director Shae Dodson.
R-CALF gives one-year memberships to people who donate to the organization through calf auction fundraisers at area sale barns, Dodson said. But Dodson said the large membership reflects support within the state. Donors in South Dakota contributed $440,000 to R-CALF in 2005.
Stockgrowers executive director Carrie Stadheim also noted that R-CALF has developed a high public profile by fighting legal battles on a variety of issues.
SDCA membership had slipped for a number of years, but president Mike Stahly of Cavour says membership is rising again. Membership as of late February was about 1,000, according to SDCA executive director Jodie Hickman.
Membership has grown about 5 percent higher than a year ago, Hickman said.
NCBA membership nationally is about 25,000. NCBA has about 200 members in South Dakota.
The NCBA has its origins in the National Livestock Association, formed in 1898.
The SDCA was preceded by the formation in 1948 of the Yankton County Livestock Feeders and Growers Association, Hickman said.
The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association was formed in the early 1890s.
