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Live Debate in Wisconsin Lasts a Record Four Hours
(Bloomington, Wis.) – R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard and NCBA President Jim McAdams went head-to-head recently on current cattle-industry issues at Bloomington Livestock Exchange in Bloomington, Wis., during a live debate that lasted a record four hours.
"As we continue to witness the ongoing changes in the beef industry, I cannot express the importance of the true voice R-CALF USA has provided for the U.S. independent cattleman," said Kevin Kirschbaum, owner of Bloomington Livestock Exchange. "With calf, yearling and fed cattle prices so strong, it's easy for the independent cattlemen to overlook the issues happening daily."
Kirschbaum sponsored the debate, and also hosted a rollover calf sale his sale barn as a fund-raiser for R-CALF USA, which generated more than $5,500 for the organization. Bullard spoke to the crowd prior to the fund-raiser, and both his talk and the calf sale were broadcast live over the Internet.
"Now, is the time to move forward aggressively and preserve our share of the marketplace," noted Kirschbaum. "We now have a voice through R-CALF USA.
"Let's continue to exercise our right to be heard and make a difference by helping to make R-CALF the largest independent cattlemen's organization in the United States," he continued. "Support USA beef and support R-CALF."
During the debate, Bullard said the entire beef supply chain is driven by the amount of beef that consumers purchase and the price consumers are willing to pay for it. One school of thought throughout the '80s and '90s, he said, was whatever was good for the beef packer was also good for the cattle industry because when packers were profitable, they would pass those profits back to the producer. Yet, history shows this is not true, and for the last three years, producers have received historically high prices only because the packers were denied the captive-supply cattle and access to imports they were using to leverage down domestic cattle prices, Bullard explained.
He went on to explain that the goal of R-CALF USA is to ensure that independent cattle producers can continue to set the terms of their production, the terms for their marketing, and receive their competitive share of the consumers' beef dollar from the competitive marketplace. Independent cattle producers have to stand up to protect their own interests because no one else will, he warned.
McAdams told the crowd that the mandatory Beef Checkoff was implemented because cattle producers were suffering terrible prices and record imports in the 1980s.
"In an effort to be more competitive we started concentrating on efficiency, however, we lost quality and consistency," he noted. "We now know, since we focused on demand, that between the late '70s and late '90s that we lost 50 percent of our beef demand."
He said that all industry segments had been fighting amongst each other, so they agreed to merge into one organization, that being the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, or NCBA.
"NCBA is an organization of cattle producers, but we are industry inclusive," said McAdams.
He explained the NCBA board is made up of 60 percent cow/calf/stocker operators, 30 percent feeders, 1.5 percent packers/processors, 1.5 percent livestock market operators and 6 percent retailers/food service/agriculture lenders/feed companies/animal health companies.
One question posed to McAdams asked if NCBA was indeed democratically oriented, then why did the organization side with the packers on the Canadian border issue? McAdams responded that Canadian beef is as safe as USA beef, and if NCBA had requested that the border remain closed – which would have stopped beef from a country with lower health standards from coming into the U.S. – such action would have endangered consumer confidence.
Bullard told the crowd that the only reason R-CALF USA exists is because the entire industry was headed in one direction – toward vertical integration.
"Packers are trying to turn the feeding sector into a non-competitive subsidiary of the packers themselves," said Bullard. "Packers told us that demand for consistent quality products were leading many firms to exert greater control over the supply chain. We (cattle producers) cannot be unified (with the packers) because we have different interests.
"The packers already have two organizations representing them: the American Meat Institute (AMI) and the National Meat Association (NMA)," explained Bullard. "The producers are the only sector that does not have their own, exclusive organization representing them.
"You cannot compete as widely dispersed, independent producers unless you are united under an organization strong enough and large enough to affect the outcome," he emphasized.
"I like the way Mr. Bullard spoke; he did a good job of presenting the facts," said Roger Kreul, of Fennimore, Wis. "I did enjoy the way Mr. Bullard pointed out that if COOL was done correctly, there would be no added cost. The labeling charge would only fall on the imported meat."
"Bill was extremely welcome and well-received," commented Gregg May, of Mineral Point, Wis. "He is an excellent spokesman for R-CALF and the industry."
Merial SureHealth co-sponsored the debate, moderated by "The Fabulous Farm Babe" Pam Jahnke, host of the Wisconsin Farm Report. Grant County Cattlemen's Association prepared and served the meal prior to the debate.
Rollover auction contributors included: Dave Matthes Livestock; PAPA Alliance/Gregg May; Dan Mueller; Roger Knutson; Jim Kirschbaum; Southwest Veterinary Services; Tricor Insurance/Ken Houtakker; Iowa County Cattlemen's Association; Miller Trucking; Gary Rickles; Bloomington Livestock Exchange Inc.; Joe and Dawn Langmeier; Five-Star Telecommunications; Diamond K Farms/Joe Finley; Roger and Debra VanDerLeest; 2K Cattle Enterprises; Roger Paynter Livestock; Pigeon Creek Cattle Co./James Murray; K&K Livestock Trucking; Leonard Auction Services; Tim Slack Auction and Realty; Jerry Fulman; R-Valley Farm/Roger Ralston; Breneman Beef Farms; Jim and Diane Collins; Oak Grove Farm/Ray Walter; Butikofer Cattle and Grain/Mike Butikofer; Jim Palzkill; Tom Thomson; Retrum Trucking; Garnet Inc.; Roger Kreul; Charles and Sue Johnson; Sue Finley; and Jerry and Machelle Bulman.
(Bloomington, Wis.) – R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard and NCBA President Jim McAdams went head-to-head recently on current cattle-industry issues at Bloomington Livestock Exchange in Bloomington, Wis., during a live debate that lasted a record four hours.
"As we continue to witness the ongoing changes in the beef industry, I cannot express the importance of the true voice R-CALF USA has provided for the U.S. independent cattleman," said Kevin Kirschbaum, owner of Bloomington Livestock Exchange. "With calf, yearling and fed cattle prices so strong, it's easy for the independent cattlemen to overlook the issues happening daily."
Kirschbaum sponsored the debate, and also hosted a rollover calf sale his sale barn as a fund-raiser for R-CALF USA, which generated more than $5,500 for the organization. Bullard spoke to the crowd prior to the fund-raiser, and both his talk and the calf sale were broadcast live over the Internet.
"Now, is the time to move forward aggressively and preserve our share of the marketplace," noted Kirschbaum. "We now have a voice through R-CALF USA.
"Let's continue to exercise our right to be heard and make a difference by helping to make R-CALF the largest independent cattlemen's organization in the United States," he continued. "Support USA beef and support R-CALF."
During the debate, Bullard said the entire beef supply chain is driven by the amount of beef that consumers purchase and the price consumers are willing to pay for it. One school of thought throughout the '80s and '90s, he said, was whatever was good for the beef packer was also good for the cattle industry because when packers were profitable, they would pass those profits back to the producer. Yet, history shows this is not true, and for the last three years, producers have received historically high prices only because the packers were denied the captive-supply cattle and access to imports they were using to leverage down domestic cattle prices, Bullard explained.
He went on to explain that the goal of R-CALF USA is to ensure that independent cattle producers can continue to set the terms of their production, the terms for their marketing, and receive their competitive share of the consumers' beef dollar from the competitive marketplace. Independent cattle producers have to stand up to protect their own interests because no one else will, he warned.
McAdams told the crowd that the mandatory Beef Checkoff was implemented because cattle producers were suffering terrible prices and record imports in the 1980s.
"In an effort to be more competitive we started concentrating on efficiency, however, we lost quality and consistency," he noted. "We now know, since we focused on demand, that between the late '70s and late '90s that we lost 50 percent of our beef demand."
He said that all industry segments had been fighting amongst each other, so they agreed to merge into one organization, that being the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, or NCBA.
"NCBA is an organization of cattle producers, but we are industry inclusive," said McAdams.
He explained the NCBA board is made up of 60 percent cow/calf/stocker operators, 30 percent feeders, 1.5 percent packers/processors, 1.5 percent livestock market operators and 6 percent retailers/food service/agriculture lenders/feed companies/animal health companies.
One question posed to McAdams asked if NCBA was indeed democratically oriented, then why did the organization side with the packers on the Canadian border issue? McAdams responded that Canadian beef is as safe as USA beef, and if NCBA had requested that the border remain closed – which would have stopped beef from a country with lower health standards from coming into the U.S. – such action would have endangered consumer confidence.
Bullard told the crowd that the only reason R-CALF USA exists is because the entire industry was headed in one direction – toward vertical integration.
"Packers are trying to turn the feeding sector into a non-competitive subsidiary of the packers themselves," said Bullard. "Packers told us that demand for consistent quality products were leading many firms to exert greater control over the supply chain. We (cattle producers) cannot be unified (with the packers) because we have different interests.
"The packers already have two organizations representing them: the American Meat Institute (AMI) and the National Meat Association (NMA)," explained Bullard. "The producers are the only sector that does not have their own, exclusive organization representing them.
"You cannot compete as widely dispersed, independent producers unless you are united under an organization strong enough and large enough to affect the outcome," he emphasized.
"I like the way Mr. Bullard spoke; he did a good job of presenting the facts," said Roger Kreul, of Fennimore, Wis. "I did enjoy the way Mr. Bullard pointed out that if COOL was done correctly, there would be no added cost. The labeling charge would only fall on the imported meat."
"Bill was extremely welcome and well-received," commented Gregg May, of Mineral Point, Wis. "He is an excellent spokesman for R-CALF and the industry."
Merial SureHealth co-sponsored the debate, moderated by "The Fabulous Farm Babe" Pam Jahnke, host of the Wisconsin Farm Report. Grant County Cattlemen's Association prepared and served the meal prior to the debate.
Rollover auction contributors included: Dave Matthes Livestock; PAPA Alliance/Gregg May; Dan Mueller; Roger Knutson; Jim Kirschbaum; Southwest Veterinary Services; Tricor Insurance/Ken Houtakker; Iowa County Cattlemen's Association; Miller Trucking; Gary Rickles; Bloomington Livestock Exchange Inc.; Joe and Dawn Langmeier; Five-Star Telecommunications; Diamond K Farms/Joe Finley; Roger and Debra VanDerLeest; 2K Cattle Enterprises; Roger Paynter Livestock; Pigeon Creek Cattle Co./James Murray; K&K Livestock Trucking; Leonard Auction Services; Tim Slack Auction and Realty; Jerry Fulman; R-Valley Farm/Roger Ralston; Breneman Beef Farms; Jim and Diane Collins; Oak Grove Farm/Ray Walter; Butikofer Cattle and Grain/Mike Butikofer; Jim Palzkill; Tom Thomson; Retrum Trucking; Garnet Inc.; Roger Kreul; Charles and Sue Johnson; Sue Finley; and Jerry and Machelle Bulman.
