None of the Rancher Organizations Represent Us
By Jennifer Hill
In the beef industry we have had several options for organized “representation” for many years. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund (R-CALF) and US Cattlemen all claim to be the real voice representing the real producers of the nation. But the truth is nobody is truly representing ranchers. Instead they are all continually failing us while building their personal notoriety and business empires.
I married into a family of hardcore NCBA members, full of state affiliate and regional directors. A family who proudly spent their annual vacation at NCBA conventions, stockpiling convention badges and canvas bags. For several years after getting married my husband and I did the NCBA thing with gusto. We attended meetings and paid our dues. We were involved. Over time we noticed how quickly the dues were climbing, as were convention prices. A few years ago as we wandered around a convention that cost over $400 per person just to walk in to, it hit me. We had just finished listening to an inspiring speech by US Astronaut Scott Kelly and headed to the opening of the massive trade show. For the grand opening night NCBA had put together an astronaut theme to go with the keynote speaker, complete with models wandering around in orange NASA-esque jumpsuits waving at people. No wonder the convention cost so much. It was a “come to Jesus” moment for me. What was I doing here? Why was I giving so much of my hard earned, precious funds to this and what was I getting out of it? Judging by the cattle market results, not much. Shortly after the convention I stopped paying dues.
I am not claiming no good comes from NCBA. Call me a shill, but I absolutely believe in the power of foreign trade and they’ve been a major player in opening up numerous markets, especially in Asia. But they’ve clearly lost their way, pricing out the very people they claim to represent and frankly, grown too big for their britches.
R-CALF positioned themselves as the alternative to NCBA, gaining popularity in waves every few years, then melting back into obscurity. Unfortunately they seem to spend more time focused on opposition to NCBA as their primary position than anything else. More concerningly, the vast majority of their policy positions include some type of government intervention and involvement. Whether it’s MCOOL, 50/14 (which has recently become 50/7), or mandatory minimum pricing, their solutions to what ails us usually invites more government into our industry. Despite their loud voice on social media they appear to have very little pull in the real world. Their Beef Checkoff Referendum failed miserably, with only 18,790 of the required 88,269 signatures. They align themselves with some questionable figures when convenient, including the recent livestock market bill proposed by vegan Senator Cory Booker, while decrying NCBA for similar partnership practices.
The reality is all of these organizations have made themselves into a subsidiary industry. “Rancher Representation” seems to be less about representing the real needs of ranchers and more about building their own business model based on membership and sponsor dollars, with little to show in results for the average producer. The long term solution to our industry woes likely doesn’t lie in getting the right group to lobby for us, we’ve been trying that for decades. Yes, it’s how the cogs in the old wheel have always turned, but observational data easily tells any rancher that it’s not working for us. The real solution likely lies in changing the very nature of the government these organizations lobby. Retracting the power they hold over us as producers and the markets we serve while leveling the pathway to competition. Of course that objective is much bigger, harder to achieve and thus harder to sell to Boomer-Con ranchers who just want to come listen to motivational speakers, look at the pretty strippers dressed up thematically and walk away with a free sorting stick, feeling like their voice is accomplishing something.