Practice What You Preach
A certain and steady conversation amongst our readership and throughout the industry revolves around why those of us in the cattle business can never come to an agreeance on issues facing all of us. It’s followed by the obvious conclusion that if we could head to D.C., or our state legislators, or our consumers with one message, we would be stronger and come to solutions faster. But it’s just not that simple.
Take the competition and transparency in our cattle markets for example. This issue didn’t just creep up on us overnight when the Tyson plant burned or COVID shut down major processors. It’s an issue that has been brewing for years. We all understand that and realize that something must be done, yet we can’t figure out just what that something looks like — especially when we consider not just the regionality of our market participants, but the variance in roles and needs along the supply chain. What’s good for a cow-calf producer in Montana, may not be best for a feeder in Texas. These details make for a complex issue that will demand the entire industry’s input to solve.
It’s easy to look at issues like the hours of service for livestock haulers dilemma and say, ‘when we all come together, we can achieve the best results.’ While a permanent solution is not quite in place there, seeing the entire livestock industry on the same page assures me that we will secure one soon. Recently, cattle, sheep, dairy, poultry, and swine organizations of all kinds in Colorado formed a coalition to fight Initiative 16 in their state. The ballot initiative is one I’ve discussed in a previous column and would criminalize certain animal husbandry practices and require livestock to live one-quarter of their lifespan before slaughter. This is no doubt a critical measure to stop in its tracks and one we must not turn a blind eye to anytime soon. However, seeing the livestock producers of the state band together provides me with great hope that Initiative 16 won’t get too far.
These great examples of unity are what we all wish to achieve in the cattle industry. But are they applicable in every situation? I’d love to say yes, but I’m not sure that’s realistic. I’m not here to cut down that enthusiasm or positivity, because we do see the best progress when we can all rally around a cause. However, look at the difference in the examples that drew unity and issues causing division like price discovery. It’s hardly comparing apples to apples because we have a very complex issue that affects each player in our supply chain differently and we have issues that would have one, big detrimental impact on the entire beef business so we can easily join in pushing for a remedy.
It’s certainly frustrating to watch our organizations fight with one another and each propose entirely different ideas. I would encourage you though, to consider the point of view behind all of the proposals. Instead of demanding we all get on the same page with one solution, be a part of discussing what that solution is first. It’s easy to want unity and every one of us is fully aware that unity would be a powerful asset in finding the fix to our markets. But before we can achieve unity, we need to achieve open minded conversations to find the solution that we can finally unite behind. Be open to being a part of that process before cutting down other organizations and furthering the division. Calling for unity only works if we are ready to engage in a unifying manner.