2012 NBIS Beef Summit

            I have been looking forward to attending the 2012 Nebraska Beef Industry Scholars (NBIS) Beef Summit for awhile. The reason I wanted to attend was so I would understand how the event ran and get ideas for topics and speakers as I am a junior in the NBIS program and will be one of the students helping put on the 2013 NBIS Beef Summit.

            The event agenda looked interesting with several industry leaders along with different perspectives coming from the “Bridging the Gap Between Industry to Consumer Panel” with Mr. Glyn Lacy, owner/operator of Skeeter Barnes, Mrs. Taryn Vanderford, KOLN/KGIN Co-Anchor First at Four Newscast, and Dr. Chris Ashworth, Chairman of the Board of the Animal Agriculture Alliance. I attended the first half of the event so was unable to hear the panel. I did have the privilege to hear from Mr. Collin Woodall, the Vice President of Government Affairs for National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and Mr. Paul Clayton, the Senior Vice President of Export Service of the United States Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

            Mr. Woodall was the first speaker and discussed how the 2012 election results will impact the cattle industry. The election did not turn out the way the polls had predicted. Our nation’s heartland and rural communities are very conservative but the way our nation is run seems to be decided by the liberal metropolitans. The maps shown were eye opening! It may become difficult for NCBA to work with congress since the support is not there. He went on to discuss some of the legislative “wins.” These included dust regulations, GIPSA rule, Free Trade Agreements, no CDL required for tractors and private transportation, DOL Child Labor Laws, and dietary guidelines to continue to include red meat proteins. I remember a lot of these especially the child labor laws. That was one issue I voiced my opinion on. Next, he mentioned the challenges we are and will face. The number one fight priority is the death tax. We also will continue to work on the 2012 Farm Bill, Clean Water Act Guidance, Antibiotics and other tools/procedure, ethanol, Animal Disease Traceability (ADT), and trade with Japan and China. NCBA holds a Beef 101 session for congressional members to explain to them what antibiotics and beta agonists are and why they are important to our industry, which is something I found very interesting. As he wrapped things up he covered our top two “enemies” or regulators. Wayne Pacelle of Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took those positions. Mr. Woodall encouraged everyone to be engaged, stay informed, and talk with your congressional members. If you ever have a complaint, just call 1-877-SOB-USOB (this is literally the number to the switch board on Capitol Hill).

            Our second speaker was Mr. Paul Clayton. I was able to visit the USMEF office and speak with Mr. Clayton this summer on our NBIS summer tour. Mr. Clayton discussed the international perspective on beef industry opportunities. We currently have a $5 billion international beef market in 100 countries where the best seller is variety meats. We live in globalization where sustainability is the key. United States beef is seen internationally with high quality, consistency, versatility, and affordability. He made an interesting comment that the largest ship holds 11 cranes and only runs the Los Angeles-Hong Kong route. It ships food out of the U.S. and brings back electronics. He went on to say that the purchasing power of the dollar bill is the driving force of trade; determining whether we export more or import more. Some of the other challenges facing our trade include animal disease control, ID traceability, drug residues, food safety, and animal welfare. Some countries have very strict regulations like Japan does not allow anything over 21 months of age to be imported making it a challenge but yet an opportunity that is in the workings with 21 being raised to 30 months in the near future.

            These two speakers were very interesting and helped me understand the issues our industry is facing and what my generation will have to face as the leaders of our industry.