Oldtimer
Well-known member
4/3/2006 4:13:00 PM
R-CALF: Central Nebraska Hosts R-CALF USA CEO, ICON President
(Thedford, Neb.) – R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard and Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska (ICON) President Chris Abbott spoke to more than 90 people during recent meetings in Thedford and Bartlett. ICON is an affiliate organization of R-CALF USA.
"In 2003, after eight years of U.S. herd liquidation, and six years of increased beef demand, U.S. cattle prices finally began to improve," said Bullard. "Why did it take so long? The answer is that the nation's largest meatpackers were interfering with the competitive marketplace.
"They had introduced new tools in the industry to enable them to capture the consumer demand – signals that should have been driving live cattle prices higher," continued Bullard. "Packers were satisfying increased consumer demand with imported cattle, captive-supply cattle and imported beef.
"The U.S. cattle industry was being insulated from consumer demand signals," noted Bullard. "The profits that a competitive market should have allocated to producers were being deflected by the meatpackers and reallocated back to the packers themselves.
"It took an extraordinary event (Canadian BSE and closed border) to break the stronghold the packers had over your live-cattle prices," explained Bullard. "For the first time in over 30 years, fed-cattle prices jumped $18 per hundred-weight (cwt) in one year, between 2002 and 2003.
"If U.S. cattle producers want to remain profitable, they must take steps to remove the forces that were depressing U.S. cattle prices before 2003," said Bullard. "Producers must act now to build an organization large enough and strong enough to maintain an open, competitive marketplace that is free from the undue influence of the dominant meatpackers. We can do this if we stand together. R-CALF USA has proved that already, and what we need to do now is grow R-CALF's membership so it becomes the largest cattle-producer organization in the United States.
"You have learned some uncontroversial facts during the last 3 years, and you have learned that imports do impact your prices, particularly live-cattle imports," Bullard told his audience. "You have had the highest prices in the history of your industry when U.S. beef exports were at or near zero. Doesn't this shed new light on the importance of the domestic market to the domestic producer? If we do things right in the largest beef-consuming nation in the world, and if we succeed in maintaining our market share in the domestic market, we will be assured that U.S. beef will be coveted the world over.
"But, if we remain silent, we may well witness importers capturing a record share of our domestic U.S. beef market in 2006," said Bullard. "Only if we begin taking steps to mark our products with a Country-of-Origin Label (COOL), address captive supplies, strengthen our import standards and build safeguards in trade agreements can we expect to compete successfully in our own market."
Abbott said the representation that R-CALF USA gives independent producers and feeders on a national level, as well as what ICON gives them on a state level, are important so that producers' voices can be heard in Washington, D.C., and Lincoln.
"The majority of people who attended these meetings heard Bill's presentation for the first time," said Abbott. "The lengthy discussions afterward on COOL, animal identification, free trade agreements, the Canadian border and banning packer ownership of cattle are a testimony that Rural America is becoming better informed about the cattle industry in the heart of Nebraska.
Jim Hanna, who chairs R-CALF USA's Checkoff Committee and who also is an ICON director, said Bullard's message was well received and that Animal ID was the hot topic of the night.
"The most encouraging part of the meeting was seeing new people seeking out the R-CALF and ICON messages, and after hearing the discussion, joining both organizations on the spot," said Hanna. "There are plenty of folks out there who are looking for that organization that will uphold policies beneficial to their operations. We just need to remain visible and accessible, and our membership will continue to grow."
"There are several issues facing the industry today, such as Animal ID, trade agreements, and open competitive markets," said Dave Nichols, of Chambers. "It is important that as producers, we get involved in the decision-making process and help shape the future of our industry. We can no longer afford to stand idly by while other people decide our future for us."
R-CALF: Central Nebraska Hosts R-CALF USA CEO, ICON President
(Thedford, Neb.) – R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard and Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska (ICON) President Chris Abbott spoke to more than 90 people during recent meetings in Thedford and Bartlett. ICON is an affiliate organization of R-CALF USA.
"In 2003, after eight years of U.S. herd liquidation, and six years of increased beef demand, U.S. cattle prices finally began to improve," said Bullard. "Why did it take so long? The answer is that the nation's largest meatpackers were interfering with the competitive marketplace.
"They had introduced new tools in the industry to enable them to capture the consumer demand – signals that should have been driving live cattle prices higher," continued Bullard. "Packers were satisfying increased consumer demand with imported cattle, captive-supply cattle and imported beef.
"The U.S. cattle industry was being insulated from consumer demand signals," noted Bullard. "The profits that a competitive market should have allocated to producers were being deflected by the meatpackers and reallocated back to the packers themselves.
"It took an extraordinary event (Canadian BSE and closed border) to break the stronghold the packers had over your live-cattle prices," explained Bullard. "For the first time in over 30 years, fed-cattle prices jumped $18 per hundred-weight (cwt) in one year, between 2002 and 2003.
"If U.S. cattle producers want to remain profitable, they must take steps to remove the forces that were depressing U.S. cattle prices before 2003," said Bullard. "Producers must act now to build an organization large enough and strong enough to maintain an open, competitive marketplace that is free from the undue influence of the dominant meatpackers. We can do this if we stand together. R-CALF USA has proved that already, and what we need to do now is grow R-CALF's membership so it becomes the largest cattle-producer organization in the United States.
"You have learned some uncontroversial facts during the last 3 years, and you have learned that imports do impact your prices, particularly live-cattle imports," Bullard told his audience. "You have had the highest prices in the history of your industry when U.S. beef exports were at or near zero. Doesn't this shed new light on the importance of the domestic market to the domestic producer? If we do things right in the largest beef-consuming nation in the world, and if we succeed in maintaining our market share in the domestic market, we will be assured that U.S. beef will be coveted the world over.
"But, if we remain silent, we may well witness importers capturing a record share of our domestic U.S. beef market in 2006," said Bullard. "Only if we begin taking steps to mark our products with a Country-of-Origin Label (COOL), address captive supplies, strengthen our import standards and build safeguards in trade agreements can we expect to compete successfully in our own market."
Abbott said the representation that R-CALF USA gives independent producers and feeders on a national level, as well as what ICON gives them on a state level, are important so that producers' voices can be heard in Washington, D.C., and Lincoln.
"The majority of people who attended these meetings heard Bill's presentation for the first time," said Abbott. "The lengthy discussions afterward on COOL, animal identification, free trade agreements, the Canadian border and banning packer ownership of cattle are a testimony that Rural America is becoming better informed about the cattle industry in the heart of Nebraska.
Jim Hanna, who chairs R-CALF USA's Checkoff Committee and who also is an ICON director, said Bullard's message was well received and that Animal ID was the hot topic of the night.
"The most encouraging part of the meeting was seeing new people seeking out the R-CALF and ICON messages, and after hearing the discussion, joining both organizations on the spot," said Hanna. "There are plenty of folks out there who are looking for that organization that will uphold policies beneficial to their operations. We just need to remain visible and accessible, and our membership will continue to grow."
"There are several issues facing the industry today, such as Animal ID, trade agreements, and open competitive markets," said Dave Nichols, of Chambers. "It is important that as producers, we get involved in the decision-making process and help shape the future of our industry. We can no longer afford to stand idly by while other people decide our future for us."
