As I’ve read of cattle producer gatherings around the country the last month referred to as “Common Ground” meetings, it’s brought memories of a cattle industry meeting held not all that long ago, with its goal to positively impact the cattle industry.
A little over four years ago representatives of six organizations met in Phoenix to discuss problems facing the U.S. cattle industry and potential solutions to those problems. Representatives of NCBA, R-CALF USA, USCA, NFU, AFBF, & LMA all gathered in Phoenix in early May 2021 to try to figure out how to keep the U.S. cattle industry vibrant for all of rural America. That Phoenix meeting was apparently organized by some of the same folks that put together the Common Ground meetings of the last several months. With the Phoenix meeting, there was an attempt initially to keep proceedings private with a NDA (nondisclosure agreement) presented to all participants after they had arrived. But this NDA was quickly shelved and with a (limited) agenda (no discussion on M-COOL or the checkoff), the meeting moved forward. The attendees did agree to have a single spokesperson report publicly the group’s findings of main areas of concern. These were the top problems identified in that May 2021 meeting:
Packer Concentration
Price Transparency & Discovery
Packer Oversight
Packers & Stockyards Act Enforcement
Captive Supplies
Packer Capacity
Even though the 2021 Phoenix meeting and Common Ground meetings were put together by some of the same folks, it appears that the common ground agenda precluded discussion of the very problems identified by an industry-wide group just four years earlier. I do know that no one from R-CALF USA was invited to the Common Ground meetings. That fact I have no problem with, but when the Common Ground group wants to purport that it speaks for the entire industry, that is where there’s a problem. When an echo chamber is created for debate, effectively quashing debate, the results are suspect.
The Phoenix meeting was one that held tremendous potential to make a difference as the list of main problems identified by those participating focused on maintaining/keeping competitive markets while the list of invitees covered the entire industry. Common Ground organizers have mentioned that competition is too hard of a lift today and thus focused on their limited non-market agenda.
This is disappointing. Unless competition and markets for all classes of cattle are promoted and fought for, the U.S. cattle industry will simply become like hogs, a service industry for a few “kings” in their “kingdoms.” We can manipulate tax policy, trucking policies, and other policies but without real, competitive markets and sensible trade policy (with profits over time) for our cattle, the U.S. cattle industry will be subject to further shrinkage, further threatening the very security of this country.
I was proud to represent R-CALF USA along with three other R-CALF representatives in May of 2021 in Phoenix. R-CALF continues to lead the way in fighting for competitive markets and common sense trade policy so that future generations of cattle & sheep producer entrepreneurs may keep rural America strong, as it must to keep the United States of America strong & her food supply plentiful & secure.
Sincerely,
Eric F Nelson
District VII Director, R-CALF USA (Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin)
President, Iowa Stock Growers Association
Moville, Iowa cattle producer