On Tuesday, April 12, 2005, at 07:33 PM, RONNIE STOUT wrote:
HEY LEE,I been looking high and low for that story you told about R calf and the ncba in the boxing ring ,R CALF wearing red white blue robe,dusty cowboy boots,etc..if you get time e mail it to me ............GOOD LUCK
Ronnie
Is this it?
R-CALF Versus NCBA
Lee Pitts 2/24/03 Front Page Story
They have sparred before but never have they come to blows like this.
In one corner wearing black trunks and a golden robe you can see right through, we have a fifty year old former heavyweight with flabby fat and withering muscle that is being propped up by a large entourage of packers, feeders and allied industries. In the other corner we have a young challenger, less than ten years old, cloaked in an American flag and wearing dusty cowboy boots, who against all odds is attempting to dethrone the cocky veteran.
Yes, the fight is on between R-CALF, with an annual budget of less than $80,000, and the NCBA with a budget of 65 million checkoff dollars. To the casual observer it might look like a one armed man wearing a suit of paper going against a grizzly bear. A David and Goliath battle. But David is on a win streak. In places like La Junta, Colorado, and Cottonwood, California, where NCBA has been foolish enough to engage R-CALF in debate, the fledging organization has whipped the NCBA badly. As a result R-CALF is the fastest growing livestock organization in the country and NCBA membership is dropping like an aging heavyweight that just took an uppercut to its glass jaw.
On more and more rancher's scorecards R-CALF is ahead on points and the knockout blow will come when the Supreme Court takes away NCBA's checkoff cash.
Punch and Counterpunch
These two fighters have far different styles.
• The NCBA supported opening the border to Canada to cattle movement. R-CALF does not. NCBA embraces the World Trade Organization and NAFTA. R-CALF was against NAFTA and has said from its beginning that if we could keep imports from Canada and Mexico from destroying our markets then our cattlemen would thrive. Judging from current cattle prices its looks like R-CALF's is the winning strategy. Even with most of our export markets closed, without live cattle imports from Canada, American cattlemen are receiving the highest prices in history.
• NCBA has fought hard against mandatory Country of Origin Labeling, despite the fact that over 80% of American consumers are in favor of it. R-CALF fought with a coalition of groups to implement COOL. R-CALF says that If COOL had been in place when the mad cow reared its ugly head we wouldn't have lost our export markets.
• NCBA says mad cow is a North American problem despite the fact that both mad cows came from Canada. The NCBA says Canadian beef is just as safe as ours and NCBA's President said, "the Canadian beef safety system is virtually identical to the system we have in place in the U.S." R-CALF contends that mad cow is a Canadian problem and we should identify the beef as to country of origin so the consumer can make the ultimate choice. "We have never traded with a country of moderate risk," says R-CALFUSA's Bill Bullard, "and our industry is too valuable to start now."
• R-CALF believes in one man one vote. You must be a bona fide cattleman to be a full fledged member. NCBA is going through agonizing contortions to give the allusion that they are a democratic organization. But those with the power in NCBA don't want to share it. Never have. Never will.
• In the Pickett case the plaintiffs contended that Tyson/IBP used captive supplies to suppress the cattle market and the jury agreed. NCBA testified on behalf of IBP. Half of R-CALF's board testified on behalf of the cattlemen bringing the suit.
• R-CALF says that if a packer wants to test their beef for BSE so they can reopen lost export markets they should be allowed to do so. The NCBA and USDA say they want to reopen export markets but won't allow the companies to test for BSE.
• The USDA and NCBA say that "testing does nothing to enhance the safety of our products" and COOL has no impact on our export market. Yet Japan and South Korea say they'd buy our beef right now if it was tested or was from the USA only.
• The NCBA wants to impose an industrialized global food system, controlled by a handful of powerful and politically connected corporations, whereas R-CALF is trying desperately to save the independent family ranch. R-CALF is fighting against special interests in Washington DC and believes those special interests have taken over the country. NCBA represents those special interests.
An Embarrassing Turn of Events
At this year's convention NCBA members gave USDA's Dr. Ron DeHaven a standing ovation as he addressed the NCBA membership at their BSE forum. The NCBA was quite impressed by Dr. DeHaven and the USDA. DeHaven bragged, "I don't mean to be critical of the Canadian investigation. Had BSE first been discovered on this side of the border we might have made the same mistakes."
No Mr. DeHaven, the USDA made a lot more dangerous mistakes.
The NCBA/USDA tag-team said all along that they had everything under control in regards to BSE. "You can trust us," they said right before the USDA's Inspector General confirmed a USDA official wrongly kept a suspect cow in Texas from being tested. Then it was announced that the USDA secretly began allowing imports of Canadian ground beef, sausages, frozen dinners and jerky into this country. Meat that was supposed to be banned from entering this country and that is of much higher risk of carrying BSE. The USDA kept their dirty secret for six months and would still be getting away with it if R-CALF hadn't found out and exposed USDA's illegal behavior.
The USDA says the Canadian ground, bone-in and processed beef really was safe to eat. How they would know this we haven't a clue. A spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department also said that Secretary Veneman wasn't aware of the illegal imports. Bill Bullard, CEO of the Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund says, "I can't believe the secretary didn't know what was going on. This is among the highest- profile issues in her agency, and it's beyond belief that she would not be fully aware of every step the agency is taking in this area."
By the way, the USDA staff member who insisted Secretary Veneman was not aware of the additional Canadian processed products coming into the United States illegally was USDA spokeswoman Alisa Harrison. You may remember her as a former NCBA staff member. In fact, the USDA is filled with former NCBA staffers. You may also recall that Chuck Lambert, formerly of the NCBA and now chief economist for USDA, testified before the House of Representatives that there was no possibility that imported meat contaminated with BSE could be imported into this country.
As someone once remarked, you could put the NCBA and the USDA in a barrel together, roll them down a hill and there'd be a liar on top the entire trip.
Not that it wouldn't be a good idea mind you.
A Technical Knockout
The NCBA was caught with a huge uppercut and is now reeling. After having given a standing ovation to the man responsible for USDA's BSE actions, and proclaiming that the USDA was doing a good job handling the issue, imagine the NCBA's embarrassment when the man they gave the standing ovation to at their convention, Dr. DeHaven, said in regards to USDA's handling of BSE, "Clearly the process and our failure to announce some of these actions was flawed."
"To say that we erred in process is correct," said William Hawks, an Agriculture Department undersecretary.
The NCBA got caught with its trunks pulled down and it was time for damage control. What to do? Blame someone else. An e-mail sent to NCBA members said the group is "very proud" of its relationships with federal agencies. "But today, the producers of NCBA are very disappointed with recent shortcomings by the USDA. We do not believe the department is conducting itself in a manner that's representing the needs of our industry, and these actions are causing producers nationwide to lose confidence in the USDA."
Please keep in mind this is the same government agency the NCBA was praising just weeks ago. Also keep in mind that the NCBA is financed by the checkoff which the NCBA has testified in court is a government program under the auspices of the USDA.
Unfit To Lead
Our current high cattle market presents a real conundrum for the NCBA. Their packer buddies don't like the prices they are having to pay for cattle. At the same time the NCBA would like to say the higher market is all because of the beef checkoff. But we've been checking-off for years and never enjoyed a market like this. It must be very uncomfortable for NCBA right now because more and more cattlemen are realizing that we are enjoying this market because of the efforts of R-CALF in keeping the border to Canada closed to live cattle and ground beef. The NCBA may get some livestock publications to print the packer's professors gibberish that says the border closing is only adding six to ten cents to the current cattle market, but most ranchers know better. And even if it was only six cents when, if ever, can the NCBA claim a similar market uptick solely as a result of their efforts?
R-CALF wants the good times to keep rolling. They know at some point Veneman will get the border opened so R-CALF wants to protect the American consumer and keep the market strong for U.S. beef by labeling it as to country of origin. They launched an effort to reopen the case for COOL and were joined by consumer groups.
You'll recall that under the 2002 Farm Bill, mandatory country of origin labeling was to be required as of Sept. 30, 2004 for muscle cuts of beef. But President Bush signed a bill in January delaying implementation of mandatory COOL, until Sept. 30, 2006. Now several Congressmen are attempting to put COOL back in place as it was originally intended and R-CALF is drumming up support. At the same time the NCBA and its packer friends are attempting to kill off COOL once and for all by making COOL voluntary. Which is what we already have. In effect the NCBA is trying to kill off country of origin labeling at a time when American ranchers and consumers need it the most. Of course, put in plain English, this is not an easy sell, so what does the NCBA do? They start calling R-CALF a bunch of names and launch a smear campaign.
Class act, that NCBA bunch.
As part of their smear campaign NCBA President, Jan Lyons wrote, "Thanks to recent activist actions by a few disgruntled ranchers, (she is talking about R-CALF) consumer media seems to be rallying against all of us. How sad it is that people purporting to represent cattlemen are spurring this effort to further their own agenda by questioning the safety of our product."
"Lately, a few seemed determined to shoot themselves in the foot," said Lyons, "endangering the credibility of the entire industry in the process. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We must stop this internal industry hoopla, before it's too late and consumers lose all faith in American ranchers and simply choose to quit eating our product. It is because of our consumers' confidence that we have the highest demand for beef and the best cattle prices that we have seen in recent times."
No Jan, it's because R-CALF sued the pants off the USDA and won!
Lyons also lectured R-CALF with these words: "Throwing stones at Canada, our neighboring nation, and scaring consumers about the overall safety of North American beef is a seriously dangerous tactic. The ramifications are extensive and long-term. We must continue to place a high priority on reestablishing trade."
Lyons letter caused Clay Daulton, former NCA member and longtime beef industry stalwart, to write: "It is abominations of twisted facts, quotes out of context, and and other half, and less, truths, as those made by you, all disseminated with assistance from my tax dollars, that make both you and NCBA unfit to lead."
In a January 9 memo to its affiliates NCBA wrote: "Consumer activists like the Consumer Federation of America, Ralph Nader's Public Citizen and Defenders of Wildlife are using the terrible BSE incident in Washington to push their political agenda. These consumer groups along with R-CALFUSA and the Organization for Competitive Markets are raising a political smoke screen to stop the Omnibus Appropriations bill in the Senate. The fact is these anti-beef groups have no interest in improving the profitability of producers; they want to get beef off of the consumer's plate."
Did the NCBA just call R-CALF an anti-beef group? Talk about a low blow!
Perhaps Margene Eiguren, an Oregon cattle producer spoke for many ranchers when she wrote, "NCBA and USDA are representing meatpackers and retailers as "cattlemen." The NCBA does NOT represent U.S. cattle producers. NCBA is a political cover group for the meat packing industry. R-CALFUSA IS the representative of U.S. cattle producers. It is through their efforts coupled with other livestock and farming organizations as well as consumer groups who have fought tirelessly to bring about country of origin labeling of all meat. Don't lump the cattle producer with the NCBA. We are NOT part of them. They are in FACT our enemy."
Yes, this fight is getting real interesting. After the last punch is thrown who will be named the winner? From this observer's ringside seat, and to more and more cattlemen, it's no contest. R-CALF is the new and undisputed champion for the rights of independent American ranchers.
HEY LEE,I been looking high and low for that story you told about R calf and the ncba in the boxing ring ,R CALF wearing red white blue robe,dusty cowboy boots,etc..if you get time e mail it to me ............GOOD LUCK
Ronnie
Is this it?
R-CALF Versus NCBA
Lee Pitts 2/24/03 Front Page Story
They have sparred before but never have they come to blows like this.
In one corner wearing black trunks and a golden robe you can see right through, we have a fifty year old former heavyweight with flabby fat and withering muscle that is being propped up by a large entourage of packers, feeders and allied industries. In the other corner we have a young challenger, less than ten years old, cloaked in an American flag and wearing dusty cowboy boots, who against all odds is attempting to dethrone the cocky veteran.
Yes, the fight is on between R-CALF, with an annual budget of less than $80,000, and the NCBA with a budget of 65 million checkoff dollars. To the casual observer it might look like a one armed man wearing a suit of paper going against a grizzly bear. A David and Goliath battle. But David is on a win streak. In places like La Junta, Colorado, and Cottonwood, California, where NCBA has been foolish enough to engage R-CALF in debate, the fledging organization has whipped the NCBA badly. As a result R-CALF is the fastest growing livestock organization in the country and NCBA membership is dropping like an aging heavyweight that just took an uppercut to its glass jaw.
On more and more rancher's scorecards R-CALF is ahead on points and the knockout blow will come when the Supreme Court takes away NCBA's checkoff cash.
Punch and Counterpunch
These two fighters have far different styles.
• The NCBA supported opening the border to Canada to cattle movement. R-CALF does not. NCBA embraces the World Trade Organization and NAFTA. R-CALF was against NAFTA and has said from its beginning that if we could keep imports from Canada and Mexico from destroying our markets then our cattlemen would thrive. Judging from current cattle prices its looks like R-CALF's is the winning strategy. Even with most of our export markets closed, without live cattle imports from Canada, American cattlemen are receiving the highest prices in history.
• NCBA has fought hard against mandatory Country of Origin Labeling, despite the fact that over 80% of American consumers are in favor of it. R-CALF fought with a coalition of groups to implement COOL. R-CALF says that If COOL had been in place when the mad cow reared its ugly head we wouldn't have lost our export markets.
• NCBA says mad cow is a North American problem despite the fact that both mad cows came from Canada. The NCBA says Canadian beef is just as safe as ours and NCBA's President said, "the Canadian beef safety system is virtually identical to the system we have in place in the U.S." R-CALF contends that mad cow is a Canadian problem and we should identify the beef as to country of origin so the consumer can make the ultimate choice. "We have never traded with a country of moderate risk," says R-CALFUSA's Bill Bullard, "and our industry is too valuable to start now."
• R-CALF believes in one man one vote. You must be a bona fide cattleman to be a full fledged member. NCBA is going through agonizing contortions to give the allusion that they are a democratic organization. But those with the power in NCBA don't want to share it. Never have. Never will.
• In the Pickett case the plaintiffs contended that Tyson/IBP used captive supplies to suppress the cattle market and the jury agreed. NCBA testified on behalf of IBP. Half of R-CALF's board testified on behalf of the cattlemen bringing the suit.
• R-CALF says that if a packer wants to test their beef for BSE so they can reopen lost export markets they should be allowed to do so. The NCBA and USDA say they want to reopen export markets but won't allow the companies to test for BSE.
• The USDA and NCBA say that "testing does nothing to enhance the safety of our products" and COOL has no impact on our export market. Yet Japan and South Korea say they'd buy our beef right now if it was tested or was from the USA only.
• The NCBA wants to impose an industrialized global food system, controlled by a handful of powerful and politically connected corporations, whereas R-CALF is trying desperately to save the independent family ranch. R-CALF is fighting against special interests in Washington DC and believes those special interests have taken over the country. NCBA represents those special interests.
An Embarrassing Turn of Events
At this year's convention NCBA members gave USDA's Dr. Ron DeHaven a standing ovation as he addressed the NCBA membership at their BSE forum. The NCBA was quite impressed by Dr. DeHaven and the USDA. DeHaven bragged, "I don't mean to be critical of the Canadian investigation. Had BSE first been discovered on this side of the border we might have made the same mistakes."
No Mr. DeHaven, the USDA made a lot more dangerous mistakes.
The NCBA/USDA tag-team said all along that they had everything under control in regards to BSE. "You can trust us," they said right before the USDA's Inspector General confirmed a USDA official wrongly kept a suspect cow in Texas from being tested. Then it was announced that the USDA secretly began allowing imports of Canadian ground beef, sausages, frozen dinners and jerky into this country. Meat that was supposed to be banned from entering this country and that is of much higher risk of carrying BSE. The USDA kept their dirty secret for six months and would still be getting away with it if R-CALF hadn't found out and exposed USDA's illegal behavior.
The USDA says the Canadian ground, bone-in and processed beef really was safe to eat. How they would know this we haven't a clue. A spokeswoman for the Agriculture Department also said that Secretary Veneman wasn't aware of the illegal imports. Bill Bullard, CEO of the Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund says, "I can't believe the secretary didn't know what was going on. This is among the highest- profile issues in her agency, and it's beyond belief that she would not be fully aware of every step the agency is taking in this area."
By the way, the USDA staff member who insisted Secretary Veneman was not aware of the additional Canadian processed products coming into the United States illegally was USDA spokeswoman Alisa Harrison. You may remember her as a former NCBA staff member. In fact, the USDA is filled with former NCBA staffers. You may also recall that Chuck Lambert, formerly of the NCBA and now chief economist for USDA, testified before the House of Representatives that there was no possibility that imported meat contaminated with BSE could be imported into this country.
As someone once remarked, you could put the NCBA and the USDA in a barrel together, roll them down a hill and there'd be a liar on top the entire trip.
Not that it wouldn't be a good idea mind you.
A Technical Knockout
The NCBA was caught with a huge uppercut and is now reeling. After having given a standing ovation to the man responsible for USDA's BSE actions, and proclaiming that the USDA was doing a good job handling the issue, imagine the NCBA's embarrassment when the man they gave the standing ovation to at their convention, Dr. DeHaven, said in regards to USDA's handling of BSE, "Clearly the process and our failure to announce some of these actions was flawed."
"To say that we erred in process is correct," said William Hawks, an Agriculture Department undersecretary.
The NCBA got caught with its trunks pulled down and it was time for damage control. What to do? Blame someone else. An e-mail sent to NCBA members said the group is "very proud" of its relationships with federal agencies. "But today, the producers of NCBA are very disappointed with recent shortcomings by the USDA. We do not believe the department is conducting itself in a manner that's representing the needs of our industry, and these actions are causing producers nationwide to lose confidence in the USDA."
Please keep in mind this is the same government agency the NCBA was praising just weeks ago. Also keep in mind that the NCBA is financed by the checkoff which the NCBA has testified in court is a government program under the auspices of the USDA.
Unfit To Lead
Our current high cattle market presents a real conundrum for the NCBA. Their packer buddies don't like the prices they are having to pay for cattle. At the same time the NCBA would like to say the higher market is all because of the beef checkoff. But we've been checking-off for years and never enjoyed a market like this. It must be very uncomfortable for NCBA right now because more and more cattlemen are realizing that we are enjoying this market because of the efforts of R-CALF in keeping the border to Canada closed to live cattle and ground beef. The NCBA may get some livestock publications to print the packer's professors gibberish that says the border closing is only adding six to ten cents to the current cattle market, but most ranchers know better. And even if it was only six cents when, if ever, can the NCBA claim a similar market uptick solely as a result of their efforts?
R-CALF wants the good times to keep rolling. They know at some point Veneman will get the border opened so R-CALF wants to protect the American consumer and keep the market strong for U.S. beef by labeling it as to country of origin. They launched an effort to reopen the case for COOL and were joined by consumer groups.
You'll recall that under the 2002 Farm Bill, mandatory country of origin labeling was to be required as of Sept. 30, 2004 for muscle cuts of beef. But President Bush signed a bill in January delaying implementation of mandatory COOL, until Sept. 30, 2006. Now several Congressmen are attempting to put COOL back in place as it was originally intended and R-CALF is drumming up support. At the same time the NCBA and its packer friends are attempting to kill off COOL once and for all by making COOL voluntary. Which is what we already have. In effect the NCBA is trying to kill off country of origin labeling at a time when American ranchers and consumers need it the most. Of course, put in plain English, this is not an easy sell, so what does the NCBA do? They start calling R-CALF a bunch of names and launch a smear campaign.
Class act, that NCBA bunch.
As part of their smear campaign NCBA President, Jan Lyons wrote, "Thanks to recent activist actions by a few disgruntled ranchers, (she is talking about R-CALF) consumer media seems to be rallying against all of us. How sad it is that people purporting to represent cattlemen are spurring this effort to further their own agenda by questioning the safety of our product."
"Lately, a few seemed determined to shoot themselves in the foot," said Lyons, "endangering the credibility of the entire industry in the process. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We must stop this internal industry hoopla, before it's too late and consumers lose all faith in American ranchers and simply choose to quit eating our product. It is because of our consumers' confidence that we have the highest demand for beef and the best cattle prices that we have seen in recent times."
No Jan, it's because R-CALF sued the pants off the USDA and won!
Lyons also lectured R-CALF with these words: "Throwing stones at Canada, our neighboring nation, and scaring consumers about the overall safety of North American beef is a seriously dangerous tactic. The ramifications are extensive and long-term. We must continue to place a high priority on reestablishing trade."
Lyons letter caused Clay Daulton, former NCA member and longtime beef industry stalwart, to write: "It is abominations of twisted facts, quotes out of context, and and other half, and less, truths, as those made by you, all disseminated with assistance from my tax dollars, that make both you and NCBA unfit to lead."
In a January 9 memo to its affiliates NCBA wrote: "Consumer activists like the Consumer Federation of America, Ralph Nader's Public Citizen and Defenders of Wildlife are using the terrible BSE incident in Washington to push their political agenda. These consumer groups along with R-CALFUSA and the Organization for Competitive Markets are raising a political smoke screen to stop the Omnibus Appropriations bill in the Senate. The fact is these anti-beef groups have no interest in improving the profitability of producers; they want to get beef off of the consumer's plate."
Did the NCBA just call R-CALF an anti-beef group? Talk about a low blow!
Perhaps Margene Eiguren, an Oregon cattle producer spoke for many ranchers when she wrote, "NCBA and USDA are representing meatpackers and retailers as "cattlemen." The NCBA does NOT represent U.S. cattle producers. NCBA is a political cover group for the meat packing industry. R-CALFUSA IS the representative of U.S. cattle producers. It is through their efforts coupled with other livestock and farming organizations as well as consumer groups who have fought tirelessly to bring about country of origin labeling of all meat. Don't lump the cattle producer with the NCBA. We are NOT part of them. They are in FACT our enemy."
Yes, this fight is getting real interesting. After the last punch is thrown who will be named the winner? From this observer's ringside seat, and to more and more cattlemen, it's no contest. R-CALF is the new and undisputed champion for the rights of independent American ranchers.
