News Update
September 23, 2011
First 2012 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship Qualifier ‘No Walk in the Park’
Take it from veteran contestant Brandon Neely of Southside, Ala.: Winning the first qualifying contest for the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) 2012 World Livestock Auctioneer Championship (WLAC) “was no walk in the park.”
The competition from the other 23 auctioneers was tremendous, with several seasoned contestants and a lot of new faces Neely predicted would go far in the industry. The contest was Sept. 19 at the Farmers Livestock Market of Glasgow.
Darren Carter of Ninety Six, S.C., was named reserve champion, or second place. The title of runner-up champion, or third place, went to Brian Little of Wann, Okla. The three winners are guaranteed a spot in next June’s WLAC.
That’s also true for the next five highest-scoring contestants in the contest. They are, in alphabetical order, Will Epperly, Moneta, Va.; Tom Frey, Creston, Iowa; Blake McDaniel, Tuscumbia, Ala.; Paul Ramirez, Tucson, Ariz.; and Jay Romine, Mount Washington, Ky.
A livestock auctioneer for 10 years, Neely, 25, could certainly be called a “seasoned contestant.” Next summer will mark the sixth time he’s competed in the annual WLAC.
In 2007, he was named WLAC “Rookie of the Year,” an award that goes to the highest-scoring first-time contestant in that year’s semi-finals. This is also the second time he’s won a WLAC qualifying contest.
The remaining qualifying contests are Oct. 20 at Stockmen’s Livestock Exchange Inc., Dickinson, N.D.; Jan. 17 at Producers Livestock Marketing Association, Greeley, Colo.; and March 8 at Groesbeck Auction and Livestock Co. Inc., Groesbeck, Texas.
The eight highest scorers in each qualifying contest, along with the reigning International Livestock Auctioneer Champion — Rod Burnett, Armstrong, B.C.— make up the field of 33 for the 2012 WLAC scheduled for June 16 at Turlock Livestock Auction Yard Inc., Turlock, Calif.
LMA conducts the WLAC and the qualifying contests to put the focus on competitive livestock marketing, and the continuing vital role of the auctioneer in that process. The qualifying contests, and the WLAC, are broadcast live at www.LMAAuctions.com.
Beef Board Release on 2012 Plan of Work
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board will invest about $39.8 million, from a total budget of about $42.1 million, into programs of beef promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing and producer communications in fiscal year (FY) 2012, if the recommendation of the Beef Promotion Operating Committee is approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), following review by the full Beef Board.
In action concluding its two-day meeting in Denver this week, the Operating Committee — including 10 members of the Beef Board and 10 members of the Federation of State Beef Councils — approved checkoff funding for a total of 39 “Authorization Requests,” or proposals for checkoff funding in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2011. The committee also will request full Board approval of a budget amendment to reflect the recategorization of the FY 2012 budget in accordance with the programs approved.
“After some rough seas over the last couple of years, I was just so pleased with how well our Operating Committee meeting went,” said Beef Board and Operating Committee Chairman Wesley Grau, a cattleman from New Mexico. “We had great discussion on our checkoff priorities and all of the plans presented. It was a demonstration of true cooperation and respect between the Beef Board, the Federation of State Beef Councils, checkoff contractors, and individual state beef councils.
“I think the producers and importers who invest in their beef checkoff will be proud of the Plan of Work the Operating Committee has moved forward,” Grau continued. “We are leveraging every checkoff dollar to meet our goals the best we possibly can with the limited budget we have.”
National organizations that had proposals approved by the Operating Committee (and the number of proposals and dollar amounts approved) are as follows: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) (19 programs totaling $30.2 million); U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) (13 programs totaling $6.38 million); Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) (one program totaling $1.8 million); American National CattleWomen (ANCW) (two programs totaling $483,360; Meat Importers Council of America (three programs totaling $475,000); and the National Livestock Producers Association (one program at $35,000).
On Tuesday morning, committee discussion started with stories from producers and state beef councils in Texas and Oklahoma, where devastating drought may mean more checkoff collections for a year, but will hit the industry hard for years after. Based on that grim outlook for checkoff collections in the next few years, the Operating Committee voted to leave about $1.2 million “unallocated” in 2012 to lessen the extent of the blow looking forward to FY 2013 and beyond.
“It’s important for us to plan ahead,” Grau said. “Just like on our own farms and ranches, we can’t spend everything as soon as we get it if we know there are leaner times ahead. We have to spread things out. And we’re committed to running your checkoff with that same sense of responsibility, so I think this was a very prudent decision.”
Broken out by budget component, the FY 2012 Plan of Work for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board budget includes:
- $17.8 million for promotion programs, including consumer advertising, retail marketing, foodservice marketing, new product and culinary initiatives; a Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative to build demand in densely populated Northeast states, and veal marketing and communications.
- $5.8 million for research programs, focusing on a variety of critical issues, including beef safety research, product enhancement research, human nutrition research, and market research.
- $4.4 million for consumer information programs, including a Northeast public relations initiative, national consumer public relations, the 2011 National Beef Cook-Off, a “Telling the Beef Story” speakers bureau, National Beef Ambassador Program, and nutrition-influencer relations.
- $3.1 million for industry information programs, comprising beef and dairy-beef quality assurance programs and dissemination of accurate information about the beef industry to counter misinformation from anti-beef groups and others, also referenced as “issues and reputation management.”
- $6.4 million for foreign marketing and education efforts about U.S. beef in the ASEAN region; the Caribbean; Central and South America; the Dominican Republic; Europe; the Middle East; China/Hong Kong; Japan; Mexico; Russia; South Korea; and Taiwan.
- $1.8 million for producer communications, which includes producer outreach using paid media, earned media, direct communications, and communications through livestock markets and state beef councils.
Other categories funded through the 2012 CBB budget include $225,000 for evaluation, $180,000 for program development, $250,000 for USDA oversight; and about $2 million for administration, which includes costs for Board meetings, legal fees, travel costs, office rental, supplies, equipment, and administrative staff compensation. Fiscal Year 2012 begins Oct. 1, 2011.
For more information about the Operating Committee meeting and your beef checkoff program, in general, visit www.MyBeefCheckoffMeeting.com and www.MyBeefCheckoff.com.
PLC, NCBA and ICA Granted Authority to Defend Ranchers in Court Room
The U.S. District Court, District of Idaho, yesterday, Sept. 22, 2011, granted the Public Lands Council (PLC), the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Idaho Cattle Association (ICA) intervener status in the Western Watershed Project’s (WWP) challenge of the Bureau of Land Management’s public lands grazing permit decisions. Specifically, WWP challenged grazing permits based on accusations that BLM did not account for preservation of sage grouse habitat. According to Dustin Van Liew, PLC executive director and NCBA director of federal lands, the accusations were not based on science and were presented solely to eliminate ranchers’ ability to graze livestock on public lands. He said having intervener status will allow the groups to fully participate in the legal proceedings.
“WWP’s case is just the latest example of extremist organizations attempting to remove ranchers from public lands through unrelenting litigation. The ruling will allow us to give a voice to the thousands of public lands ranchers who manage the land and its resources to ensure a sustainable public lands grazing industry,” said Van Liew. “Our industry has proven the compatibility of public lands grazing with improved wildlife habitat, including sage grouse. While the case is ongoing, it is important for us to have the ability to represent the interests of public lands ranchers.”
Wyatt Prescott, ICA executive vice president, said without the January 2011 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals landmark decision to abandon the Federal Defendant Only rule, PLC, ICA and NCBA would not have been allowed to defend ranchers in this case that will undoubtedly have significant impacts on the livelihoods of ranchers across the West.
“For decades, because of the Federal Defendant Only rule, ranchers and other public lands users were forced to stand on the sidelines while well-funded environmental activists made a hobby of filing lawsuit after lawsuit alleging violation of environmental laws, like the WWP suit regarding sage grouse. The decision to allow ICA, PLC and NCBA to defend ranchers in this case is a direct result of that January decision,” said Prescott. “We will base our actions in this case on proven evidence that public lands ranchers responsibly care for and manage the land and its resources, including wildlife habitat for the grouse.”
The non-profit Western Resource Legal Center (WRLC) is representing interveners in the sage grouse case.
“We are gratified that Judge Winmill has granted intervention. We look forward to being able to vigorously represent the ranchers in arguing against the merits of Western Watershed Project’s claims,” WRLC Executive Director Caroline Lobdell said.
Food Dialogues Reach Farm Science Review Attendees via Satellite and Twitter
Thought leaders in food and agriculture production and policy, wildlife, animal care and the environment came together via satellite and Twitter (#foodd) with farmers and consumers to discuss concerns about water and land availability, energy costs, food prices and transparency.
The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) hosted panel discussions in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Fair Oaks Farm in Indiana and took questions from live audience participants and those via Twitter from places like the Farm Science Review in London, Ohio.
“There’s a growing willingness by farmers to open up and be more transparent to consumers,” said Bob Stallman, a Texas farmer and rancher and the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, who sat on the Washington, D.C., panel.
In addition to transparency, panelists participating from the Newseum in Washington, D.C., discussed water and land availability and concerns over the rising cost of energy and food prices. Panelists debated whether energy prices cause increases in food prices or vice versa. Attendees at the Farm Science Review in London, Ohio, echoed their concerns about energy costs.
“Diesel, fertilizer — all of it is going up except what we sell,” said Ryan Pfeffer, a cow-calf farmer who was visiting the Farm Science Review from Caldwell, Ohio.
This year’s Farm Science Review featured dozens of exhibits focused on alternative energy sources, such as biofuels refining, wind and solar energy and tire pressure monitors designed to improve fuel efficiency.
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