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r-calf news

Tap

Well-known member
R-CALF battle lands in Rapid City
By Dan Daly, Journal staff
RAPID CITY — Leo McDonnell is credited with creating R-CALF USA, the nationwide group that has been lobbying and litigating on behalf of American cattle producers for nearly a decade. He’s also the cattle producer group’s most visible and ardent advocate.


At a meeting Friday in Rapid City, as R-CALF seemed poised to disintegrate into squabbles and infighting, McDonnell took on a new role — peacemaker.

“We hear about the ‘two sides,’ and we’ve been hearing about it since we put this board together last spring,” McDonnell told a roomful of ranchers gathered at the Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center. “We never had two sides in R-CALF (before). We could argue like hell on that board, and it would get nasty, but when we were all done, we went forward united.”

He said R-CALF, or Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of American, created to give U.S. ranchers a voice in Washington, is in a position to make real progress — or lose serious ground — on several political issues.

“Somewhere along the line, you folks have got to put this behind you. You’ve become your worst enemy,” he said. “I’ve seen actions on both sides of the issue … in the last couple of weeks that made me wonder why we ever started

R-CALF.”

R-CALF’s board and members seem united in their goals. Key issues include country-of-origin labeling for beef products, protection of U.S. borders from imported cattle that could be infected with diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, transparent and competitive cattle markets — and no nationwide mandatory electronic identification tags for U.S. livestock.

But disputes over tactics and strategies — whether to litigate, lobby or some combination of both — have torn the board apart in the past year.

The dispute came to a head at the Feb. 8 meeting of the

R-CALF board of directors, according to the meeting’s minutes.

During discussion of letters sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, board president Chuck Kiker called Bill Bullard, chief executive, a liar. Bullard threatened to quit.

The board voted 5-4 to

remove Kiker as R-CALF president. The same five members then voted Max Thornsberry in as president.

Several R-CALF officials resigned their positions after the boardroom standoff. McDonnell left his board post but said he remains a member of R-CALF.

In his plea for unity, McDonnell was by no means endorsing the current board. He outlined a series of complaints he has with R-CALF’s new direction.

He said board members should be more active. They should step up, not back off, their Washington lobbying, he said, adding that they must stop complaining about

R-CALF’s lawyers and lobbyists.

Last week, Thornsberry and other R-CALF officials decided to hold a series of regional meetings with members and affiliates to discuss the board changes and set the policy direction for coming months.

Friday’s Rapid City meeting was the first in the series. Others will be in Reno, Nev., Kansas City, Mo., and Nashville, Tenn.

During the question-and-answer session, some members spoke in favor of the board and its recent actions. Others, however, were sharply critical.

Shana Baisch, R-CALF USA Montana membership co-chairwoman, pointedly questioned the motives and abilities of Thornsberry, Bullard and other R-CALF officials.

Baisch said the board violated its own bylaws when it removed Kiker as president. “If you don’t follow the bylaws, then R-CALF becomes just another good-old-boy club,” she said.

Baisch said the fallout from the board action will likely harm the entire group as ranchers and affiliate groups drop their membership.

To resolve the dispute, she asked the remaining board members to resign their positions. That would allow new elections and a new board that will effectively represent the majority of its membership.

“The future and the hopes of thousands of American cattle producers are resting on this board. Please, do the right thing,” she said.

Thornsberry countered that board members were elected by ranchers from their districts and that they have a responsibility to stay on the job. He also insisted that the board acted within its bylaws when it voted to remove Kiker. “The officers of R-CALF serve at the pleasure of the board. It’s as simple as that. You do not elect officers, … you elect the board,” he said.

Montana rancher Matt Lane got into a heated exchange Friday with Thornsberry. He charged that affiliates are extremely disappointed with the R-CALF board and are not comfortable with the current leadership.

He also questioned whether R-CALF has put too much focus on litigation to keep U.S. borders closed to Canadian cattle when issues such as country-of-origin labeling and mandatory livestock IDs are looming.

He also questioned the way the meeting was handled, the way the minutes were recorded and whether the dismissal was justified.

Other people at the meeting echoed McDonnell’s comments and pleaded with the board and the other members to put their differences behind them.

With meetings in Reno, Kansas City and Nashville still ahead, only time will tell whether they can do that.

Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or [email protected]
 

Bill

Well-known member
Tap said:
R-CALF battle lands in Rapid City
By Dan Daly, Journal staff
RAPID CITY — Leo McDonnell is credited with creating R-CALF USA, the nationwide group that has been lobbying and litigating on behalf of American cattle producers for nearly a decade. He’s also the cattle producer group’s most visible and ardent advocate.


At a meeting Friday in Rapid City, as R-CALF seemed poised to disintegrate into squabbles and infighting, McDonnell took on a new role — peacemaker.

“We hear about the ‘two sides,’ and we’ve been hearing about it since we put this board together last spring,” McDonnell told a roomful of ranchers gathered at the Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center. “We never had two sides in R-CALF (before). We could argue like hell on that board, and it would get nasty, but when we were all done, we went forward united.”

He said R-CALF, or Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of American, created to give U.S. ranchers a voice in Washington, is in a position to make real progress — or lose serious ground — on several political issues.

“Somewhere along the line, you folks have got to put this behind you. You’ve become your worst enemy,” he said. “I’ve seen actions on both sides of the issue … in the last couple of weeks that made me wonder why we ever started

R-CALF.”

R-CALF’s board and members seem united in their goals. Key issues include country-of-origin labeling for beef products, protection of U.S. borders from imported cattle that could be infected with diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, transparent and competitive cattle markets — and no nationwide mandatory electronic identification tags for U.S. livestock.

But disputes over tactics and strategies — whether to litigate, lobby or some combination of both — have torn the board apart in the past year.

The dispute came to a head at the Feb. 8 meeting of the

R-CALF board of directors, according to the meeting’s minutes.

During discussion of letters sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, board president Chuck Kiker called Bill Bullard, chief executive, a liar. Bullard threatened to quit.

The board voted 5-4 to

remove Kiker as R-CALF president. The same five members then voted Max Thornsberry in as president.

Several R-CALF officials resigned their positions after the boardroom standoff. McDonnell left his board post but said he remains a member of R-CALF.

In his plea for unity, McDonnell was by no means endorsing the current board. He outlined a series of complaints he has with R-CALF’s new direction.

He said board members should be more active. They should step up, not back off, their Washington lobbying, he said, adding that they must stop complaining about

R-CALF’s lawyers and lobbyists.

Last week, Thornsberry and other R-CALF officials decided to hold a series of regional meetings with members and affiliates to discuss the board changes and set the policy direction for coming months.

Friday’s Rapid City meeting was the first in the series. Others will be in Reno, Nev., Kansas City, Mo., and Nashville, Tenn.

During the question-and-answer session, some members spoke in favor of the board and its recent actions. Others, however, were sharply critical.

Shana Baisch, R-CALF USA Montana membership co-chairwoman, pointedly questioned the motives and abilities of Thornsberry, Bullard and other R-CALF officials.

Baisch said the board violated its own bylaws when it removed Kiker as president. “If you don’t follow the bylaws, then R-CALF becomes just another good-old-boy club,” she said.

Baisch said the fallout from the board action will likely harm the entire group as ranchers and affiliate groups drop their membership.

To resolve the dispute, she asked the remaining board members to resign their positions. That would allow new elections and a new board that will effectively represent the majority of its membership.

“The future and the hopes of thousands of American cattle producers are resting on this board. Please, do the right thing,” she said.

Thornsberry countered that board members were elected by ranchers from their districts and that they have a responsibility to stay on the job. He also insisted that the board acted within its bylaws when it voted to remove Kiker. “The officers of R-CALF serve at the pleasure of the board. It’s as simple as that. You do not elect officers, … you elect the board,” he said.

Montana rancher Matt Lane got into a heated exchange Friday with Thornsberry. He charged that affiliates are extremely disappointed with the R-CALF board and are not comfortable with the current leadership.

He also questioned whether R-CALF has put too much focus on litigation to keep U.S. borders closed to Canadian cattle when issues such as country-of-origin labeling and mandatory livestock IDs are looming.

He also questioned the way the meeting was handled, the way the minutes were recorded and whether the dismissal was justified.

Other people at the meeting echoed McDonnell’s comments and pleaded with the board and the other members to put their differences behind them.

With meetings in Reno, Kansas City and Nashville still ahead, only time will tell whether they can do that.

Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or [email protected]

How dare Dan Daly and the Rapid City Journal critcize R-Klan??????

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Hey Sandhusker! Is he related to Dittmer?

One man foundation...........targeting R-Calf..........single focus.....BS.....Rumor monger........packer lovers............blah blah blah!
Maybe Dan Daly ought to look into the R-Calf financials and see where they sit.

And to think that ocm said the convention went so smoothly and that lots was accomplished.

:oops: :lol:
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
" Montana rancher Matt Lane got into a heated exchange Friday with Thornsberry. He charged that affiliates are extremely disappointed with the R-CALF board and are not comfortable with the current leadership.

He also questioned whether R-CALF has put too much focus on litigation to keep U.S. borders closed to Canadian cattle when issues such as country-of-origin labeling and mandatory livestock IDs are looming"

I am happy to see some members are realizing that their efforts were pointed in the wrong direction. Many issues of mutual importance that we could have been working on together that could have bettered the industry as a whole. A lot of time and money has been wasted while R-CALF tilted at windmills.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Quote: "During discussion of letters sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, board president Chuck Kiker called Bill Bullard, chief executive, a liar. Bullard threatened to quit."

Kiker was right. Bill Bullard is a liar. He stood in front of the US consumers and said that "USDA doesn't care about food safety" when USDA is taxed with the responsibility of food safety. Bill Bullard couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it.

This falling apart is not surprising. Someone from R-CALF was bound to develop a conscience sooner or later! There's not a lot of people that can keep supporting lies and not have it eventually affect them.

I'm proud of those who stood up against the radical fringe including Leo McDonnell.


~SH~
 

ocm

Well-known member
~SH~ said:
Quote: "During discussion of letters sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, board president Chuck Kiker called Bill Bullard, chief executive, a liar. Bullard threatened to quit."

Kiker was right. Bill Bullard is a liar. He stood in front of the US consumers and said that "USDA doesn't care about food safety" when USDA is taxed with the responsibility of food safety. Bill Bullard couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it.

This falling apart is not surprising. Someone from R-CALF was bound to develop a conscience sooner or later! There's not a lot of people that can keep supporting lies and not have it eventually affect them.

I'm proud of those who stood up against the radical fringe including Leo McDonnell.


~SH~

Since you are so intelligent, what did Kiker say Bullard lied about? It wasn't the quote you cited.
 

Tam

Well-known member
ocm said:
~SH~ said:
Quote: "During discussion of letters sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, board president Chuck Kiker called Bill Bullard, chief executive, a liar. Bullard threatened to quit."

Kiker was right. Bill Bullard is a liar. He stood in front of the US consumers and said that "USDA doesn't care about food safety" when USDA is taxed with the responsibility of food safety. Bill Bullard couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it.

This falling apart is not surprising. Someone from R-CALF was bound to develop a conscience sooner or later! There's not a lot of people that can keep supporting lies and not have it eventually affect them.

I'm proud of those who stood up against the radical fringe including Leo McDonnell.


~SH~

Since you are so intelligent, what did Kiker say Bullard lied about? It wasn't the quote you cited.

The issue of rescinding Chuck's letter to the USDA was discussed and presented by Board member Randy Stevenson. A point of order was made by Vice President Max Thornsberry. He said that in a previous Board meeting, a motion was passed to leave the letters alone. During this short discussion, President Chuck Kiker called CEO Bill Bullard a liar and told the Board that Bill had written the first letter and lied about the approval he recieved from several Board members. CEO Bill Bullard told the Board he could not operate in his capacity under these condition. Silence No action was taken by Board

Here is what Kiker called him on at the board meeting but do you really think this was the only lie Bullard told GET REAL :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
ocm: "Since you are so intelligent, what did Kiker say Bullard lied about? It wasn't the quote you cited."

Why would it matter what the lie was this time?

"USDA doesn't care about food safety"

"Candian beef is contaminated and high risk"

"2004 cattle prices were due to a closed Canadian border"

"When captive supplies get to a level of 40%, prices are negatively impacted"

An easier question would have been, when has Bullard told the truth?


~SH~
 

ocm

Well-known member
Tam said:
ocm said:
~SH~ said:
Kiker was right. Bill Bullard is a liar. He stood in front of the US consumers and said that "USDA doesn't care about food safety" when USDA is taxed with the responsibility of food safety. Bill Bullard couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it.

This falling apart is not surprising. Someone from R-CALF was bound to develop a conscience sooner or later! There's not a lot of people that can keep supporting lies and not have it eventually affect them.

I'm proud of those who stood up against the radical fringe including Leo McDonnell.


~SH~

Since you are so intelligent, what did Kiker say Bullard lied about? It wasn't the quote you cited.

The issue of rescinding Chuck's letter to the USDA was discussed and presented by Board member Randy Stevenson. A point of order was made by Vice President Max Thornsberry. He said that in a previous Board meeting, a motion was passed to leave the letters alone. During this short discussion, President Chuck Kiker called CEO Bill Bullard a liar and told the Board that Bill had written the first letter and lied about the approval he recieved from several Board members. CEO Bill Bullard told the Board he could not operate in his capacity under these condition. Silence No action was taken by Board

Here is what Kiker called him on at the board meeting but do you really think this was the only lie Bullard told GET REAL :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

Very good. Now think about it. Think about it. The guys who would know the truth about the approval are sitting right there in the meeting(or on the phone). Those directors who had given approval to Bill's letter were essentially being called liars at the same time. The evidence to prove or disprove the statement of either Kiker or Bullard was immediately available. And in response the board did what?

Also, do you think it was a simple statement of "you're a liar." Bet on it that there was a lot more with it.
 

Bill

Well-known member
ocm:
I just got back about 3 hours ago. There were quite a few media people there. You should be seeing the stuff pretty soon. Sec Johanns canceled because Bush wanted him to travel to Madagascar, so he said anyway. Undersecretary Chuck Connors spoke instead. Uneventful speech.

Smooth convention. I felt like a lot of good was done. The panel discussions were the best. They will be podcast on cattlenetwork.com

http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16158&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

:help: :clap: :clap:
 

ocm

Well-known member
Bill said:
ocm:
I just got back about 3 hours ago. There were quite a few media people there. You should be seeing the stuff pretty soon. Sec Johanns canceled because Bush wanted him to travel to Madagascar, so he said anyway. Undersecretary Chuck Connors spoke instead. Uneventful speech.

Smooth convention. I felt like a lot of good was done. The panel discussions were the best. They will be podcast on cattlenetwork.com

http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16158&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

:help: :clap: :clap:

It was a smooth convention. The board "controversy" was not a part of it except in a couple of very small ways. Do you have any evidence to the contrary?

The meeting referenced above was about three weeks later.
 

Tam

Well-known member
ocm said:
Tam said:
ocm said:
Since you are so intelligent, what did Kiker say Bullard lied about? It wasn't the quote you cited.

The issue of rescinding Chuck's letter to the USDA was discussed and presented by Board member Randy Stevenson. A point of order was made by Vice President Max Thornsberry. He said that in a previous Board meeting, a motion was passed to leave the letters alone. During this short discussion, President Chuck Kiker called CEO Bill Bullard a liar and told the Board that Bill had written the first letter and lied about the approval he recieved from several Board members. CEO Bill Bullard told the Board he could not operate in his capacity under these condition. Silence No action was taken by Board

Here is what Kiker called him on at the board meeting but do you really think this was the only lie Bullard told GET REAL :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

Very good. Now think about it. Think about it. The guys who would know the truth about the approval are sitting right there in the meeting(or on the phone). Those directors who had given approval to Bill's letter were essentially being called liars at the same time. The evidence to prove or disprove the statement of either Kiker or Bullard was immediately available. And in response the board did what?

Also, do you think it was a simple statement of "you're a liar." Bet on it that there was a lot more with it.

lied about the approval he recieved from several Board members
Maybe Kiker knew he lied because Kiker and Leo were the ones that were to have approved it and they didn't, did you ever think about that? :shock: Maybe the rest of the board only thought Leo and Chuck approved the letter but they never did. Would that not be who you would get to approve such an important letter? :roll: :roll: :roll:
 

Bill

Well-known member
ocm said:
Bill said:
ocm:
I just got back about 3 hours ago. There were quite a few media people there. You should be seeing the stuff pretty soon. Sec Johanns canceled because Bush wanted him to travel to Madagascar, so he said anyway. Undersecretary Chuck Connors spoke instead. Uneventful speech.

Smooth convention. I felt like a lot of good was done. The panel discussions were the best. They will be podcast on cattlenetwork.com

http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16158&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

:help: :clap: :clap:

It was a smooth convention. The board "controversy" was not a part of it except in a couple of very small ways. Do you have any evidence to the contrary?

The meeting referenced above was about three weeks later.

Are you sure you were even in Denver ocm? :roll:

Amateurs, Amateurs, Amateurs: The Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time R-CALF Reality Show

The Inside Story of Lettersgate
Colorado Springs, CO Feb. 23, 2007 The following is based on a lengthy explanation of the recent implosion at R- CALF from a board member who was present. That explanation is, of course, one man’s view of events. The results of the leadership’s actions made public dovetail with this board member’s and other member’s accounts.


For whatever reason, R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard apparently ignored basic professional business procedures in early January and jumped the traces. He sent a letter to Ag Secretary Mike Johanns regarding the over- 30-month proposed rule on beef and cattle imports from Canada. The letter had not been reviewed or approved by the board. The word is that not only was the board still undecided over some positions in the letter but that the tone was considered strident or offensive in tone by some.

The next day, R-CALF President Chuck Kiker sent a follow-up letter to Johanns, requesting that Bullard’s letter be disregarded. Nor was that letter reviewed or approved by the board.

So much for the grassroots, bottom- up decision-making that R-CALF had proudly proclaimed they had perfected.

The story is that Bullard “took great exception” to Kiker’s letter. Bullard was still so furious he refused to shake Kiker’s hand when next they met in Denver. Kiker asked to discuss it and Bullard refused.

Fascinating that in such a “grassroots” group: a) the employee refused a request from the top officer and b) the elected officer was not the eventual survivor.

The underground rumor mill worked full bore at R-CALF’s Denver convention, complete with misinformation and leaks from board executive sessions.

After convention, the entire R-CALF board met in Kansas City. Interestingly, also present was a mediator/attorney selected by Max Thornsberry. No mention was made of a sergeant-at-arms. But it turns out several board members, uncomfortable with the tension, had also sought legal counsel at their own expense prior to the meeting.

The board thrashed out the problems and devised a strategy to go forward, to “move on.” Or so they thought.

Shortly after that meeting, a director visited R- CALF headquarters and was taken aback by the staff wearing T-shirts reading, “Team Bill.” In such an unsettled time, he felt sad the shirts did not read “Team R-CALF.”

In an emergency board meeting conference call on other issues Feb. 8, “Lettersgate” was brought up again. The board had agreed in Kansas City to not revisit the letters issue again. But a board member on the call insisted, points of order were called, the motion was called out of order by one, but the director persisted. A motion was made by another director to remove Kiker as president and it was seconded. The vote was five to four in favor, with Thornsberry abstaining. Thornsberry took over as president.

The board member lamented the numerous accusations, falsehoods, claims of deception and fraud circulated by email in the weeks before and after R-CALF’s convention. He added the letters issue was essentially about respecting procedures, manners and how R- CALF presents the facts. That’s a mouthful.

Because of the board’s actions, the director said three directors resigned from the board, including founder Leo McDonnell. He listed a dozen committee chairmen resignations plus the magazine’s principals.

At a past R-CALF convention, a member commented that R-CALF members were a bit hardheaded and certainly non-conformist or R-CALF wouldn’t exist. In cowboy parlance, we'd say bunchquitters. And some of the emails the board member referred to were certainly rancorous, none-too-polite attacks on each other.

So what do we make of this circus?

R-CALF’s colossal breakdown – Bullard’s unapproved maverick run, Kiker’s unapproved attempt at damage control, the board’s inability to resolve difficulties without lawyers and failure to control voting procedures – throws the harsh light of reality on a group with reckless and unstable tendencies and chaotic methods damaging to themselves and the industry. The whole soap opera is reflective of their approach to problem solving for the industry: harness emotional responses to problems to legal weapons of mass destruction, ignore key facts, heed not damage to the industry or consumers, be oblivious to unintended consequences and use the spin tactics of demagoguery to hoodwink media, consumers and cattlemen.

Is this group, is this approach, what the beef industry or the cow/calf producers of America need in the 21st century?

That's why there were no press releases following Denver from R-Calf other than the mushy feel good one about the scolarship winners.

There is no way that the friction between Kiker and Bullard would not be the talk of the convention.
 

Bill

Well-known member
Shakeup In R-CALF Leadership
By Jerry Hagstrom
DTN Political Correspondent
Washington (DTN) — The Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund-United Stockgrowers of America has changed presidents, lost a key consultant and seen one of its founders resign in the last two weeks.
Bill Hawks, the former USDA undersecretary who had been a consultant for R-CALF, resigned, President Chuck Kiker was replaced and R-CALF founder Leo McDonnell also resigned.
Hawks left in a blowup over letters sent to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in early January.
R-CALF, which was founded in 1998 because some western ranchers believed the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association was too conciliatory toward imports and the meat processing industry, has had a long-term position against imports of beef and cattle from Canada. R-CALF opposed the imports on the basis that they allow U.S. meat processors to avoid paying higher prices for cattle and meat and on the grounds that Canada does not have sufficient protections against bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
On Jan. 7, R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard sent Johanns a letter stating the group’s opposition to USDA’s proposed rule to allow the importation of Canadian beef from animals 30 months of age or older. Hawks confirmed that he advised R-CALF President Chuck Kiker, a Texas rancher, that the letter was offensive. On Jan. 8, Kiker sent a letter to Johanns that some R-CALF board members found too conciliatory and deferential to Johanns’ decision-
making power on the 30-month rule.
Kathleen Kelly, a Colorado rancher and R-CALF founder said in an interview, she started a movement to remove Kiker for cause. Kelly said the letter to Johanns “wasn’t offensive” to the secretary but that “the secretary’s feelings aren’t as important as how offensive the 30-month rule is.’’
Bullard said that R-CALF received no expression of anger from USDA over the Jan. 7 letter.
On Jan. 31, Hawks resigned and in a conference call the board voted to remove Kiker as president and replace him with Max Thornsberry, a Missouri veterinarian. R-CALF founder Leo McDonnell, a Montana rancher, and several committee heads also resigned out of loyalty to Kiker. Kelly said the internal battle was over R-CALF’s culture and an attempt to change the organization from one that refused to be “acquiescers” to “posturing R-CALF as a kinder, gentler R-CALF.’’
Thornsberry will assemble his own leadership team out of R-CALF’s more than 15,000 members, Kelly said. R-CALF’s annual “stampede” to Washington for visits to members of Congress and USDA began Feb. 13. According to published reports from the group’s annual convention in Denver, over the past year R-CALF has lost about 3,000 members who did not renew memberships with the organization. R-CALF also showed a $276,000 financial loss for last year because of lower membership fees.
At that same convention Kiker was criticized by members for his work on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the group that disperses beef checkoff dollars and is closely allied with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

You can bet Kathleen Kelly was chirping about it in Denver.
 

Bill

Well-known member
Sandhusker said:
Dittmer, " The following is based on a...."

Kind of like those movies "based" on a fact?

Dittmer and Bill :roll:

As I recall you weren't there either were you Sadhusker?

Something about being too busy and the excuse........ "I have a job"?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I have seen some of those e-mails that floated about over this as I am sure Dittmer, the folks at DTN and the Rapid City Journal and other media outlets have. Go ahead, play the good little R-Klown and try discredit us all.

Here is the link to the minutes of the meeting where they punted Kiker and some of the other directors walked away in disgust.

http://www.r-calfusa.com/02-08-07 Board Minutes.pdf

:help:
 

ocm

Well-known member
Bill said:
Shakeup In R-CALF Leadership
By Jerry Hagstrom
DTN Political Correspondent
Washington (DTN) — The Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund-United Stockgrowers of America has changed presidents, lost a key consultant and seen one of its founders resign in the last two weeks.
Bill Hawks, the former USDA undersecretary who had been a consultant for R-CALF, resigned, President Chuck Kiker was replaced and R-CALF founder Leo McDonnell also resigned.
Hawks left in a blowup over letters sent to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns in early January.
R-CALF, which was founded in 1998 because some western ranchers believed the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association was too conciliatory toward imports and the meat processing industry, has had a long-term position against imports of beef and cattle from Canada. R-CALF opposed the imports on the basis that they allow U.S. meat processors to avoid paying higher prices for cattle and meat and on the grounds that Canada does not have sufficient protections against bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
On Jan. 7, R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard sent Johanns a letter stating the group’s opposition to USDA’s proposed rule to allow the importation of Canadian beef from animals 30 months of age or older. Hawks confirmed that he advised R-CALF President Chuck Kiker, a Texas rancher, that the letter was offensive. On Jan. 8, Kiker sent a letter to Johanns that some R-CALF board members found too conciliatory and deferential to Johanns’ decision-
making power on the 30-month rule.
Kathleen Kelly, a Colorado rancher and R-CALF founder said in an interview, she started a movement to remove Kiker for cause. Kelly said the letter to Johanns “wasn’t offensive” to the secretary but that “the secretary’s feelings aren’t as important as how offensive the 30-month rule is.’’
Bullard said that R-CALF received no expression of anger from USDA over the Jan. 7 letter.
On Jan. 31, Hawks resigned and in a conference call the board voted to remove Kiker as president and replace him with Max Thornsberry, a Missouri veterinarian. R-CALF founder Leo McDonnell, a Montana rancher, and several committee heads also resigned out of loyalty to Kiker. Kelly said the internal battle was over R-CALF’s culture and an attempt to change the organization from one that refused to be “acquiescers” to “posturing R-CALF as a kinder, gentler R-CALF.’’
Thornsberry will assemble his own leadership team out of R-CALF’s more than 15,000 members, Kelly said. R-CALF’s annual “stampede” to Washington for visits to members of Congress and USDA began Feb. 13. According to published reports from the group’s annual convention in Denver, over the past year R-CALF has lost about 3,000 members who did not renew memberships with the organization. R-CALF also showed a $276,000 financial loss for last year because of lower membership fees.
At that same convention Kiker was criticized by members for his work on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the group that disperses beef checkoff dollars and is closely allied with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

You can bet Kathleen Kelly was chirping about it in Denver.

Yes, she was talking about it, though not with many that I noticed. She and I talked some. It was definitely NOT the talk of the convention. Only of a few. There were lot of other things going on. The Van Dyke situation was one. (only in personal conversations, no "official" meetings on the subject.)

One of the most talked about "official" meetings was Charlie McVean's.
 

Econ101

Well-known member
I have been at some church meetings that have been stronger than that (although no strong language).

How some of you gossipers can make this into something more than an organization with strong leaders disputing the best tactics I do not know.

It is important to know that many of these people are probably not "professional" office holders and instead are strong individuals with a common cause. I would imagine that there are some strong feelings in the group about what is happening in the industry who are frustrated with our government and their lack of action in enforcing the laws that protect them.

So Kiker wrote a stronger letter than others thought tactically prudent? In addition he was a lot like a lot of other farmers/ranchers who happen to be a little salty in their speech when they are ardent about their views? It is appropriate for a board to oversee its officers whenever they see fit. The board runs the policy and the officers carry it out.

The fact that these minutes were posted shows transparency, which is good.

I would like to see some of the Canadian critics post their board minutes.

I wouldn't doubt that they would be as ardent in their support of their goals with the same kind of issues. It is to be expected.

Tam, you and Bill have a propensity to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

I would hope that rkaiser or Ostercamp (sp) would have such strong leadership and possible tactical disagreements in pushing the policies they see fit.

I think it is a shame that the NCBA leadership nor the other cattle organizations in Canada don't deal with the real issues facing the industry. Instead they act like Jews who have given up on their fate and boarded the train with not a whisper of resistance.
 
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