NCBA President-Elect Says Cattle Industry Needs to Stand United
Producers can do so much more collectively than they can individually.
Compiled by staff
Published: Aug 17, 2010
Ahead of the Cattle Industry Summer Conference, the Cattlemen's Beef Board Executive Committee voted for separation of the Federation of State Beef Councils and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. The full board voted to reject that separation, but NCBA President-Elect Bill Donald says a positive realization came out of it all.
"As volunteer leaders and as staff of both organizations we need to work more closely together and we need to get past this rift we've had," Donald said. "We need to get focused on what we're all about, which is building demand on the checkoff side and on the policy side work on all these issues both legislative and regulatory that confront our members."
Donald recently wrote an article titled "United We Stand, Divided We Fall." It's based on what's happening in the cattle industry and questions if an industry divided can stand. According to Donald an industry divided will not flourish because it cannot stand. Donald states in his article the cattle industry's adversaries are not divided, so when the cattle industry begins to fight, their enemies are pleased. He says those divisive actions empower the enemy.
"There's good people all over this industry, and while we might have a difference of opinion on an issue or two, the one thing we want to keep in mind is there are groups out there that are bent on putting animal agriculture out of business," Donald said. "They make no bones about it and they're not having any infighting. So that's a real motivation for us to get together, to focus our efforts toward the end goal of a strong, vibrant cattle industry."
Donald says the only way to get there is working together and says that collectively producers can do so much more than they can individually. That's why in the wake of all that happened at the summer conference, Donald says the leadership of NCBA and CBB have been talking and he's seen a renewed effort on both sides to work together more closely.
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Tagged: NCBA, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, checkoff, cattlemen's beef board
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