This month’s “News & Notes” includes the announcement of a new Livestock Marketing Association president, good news for pork producers regarding Proposition 12, appreciation from industry groups over the advancement of a potential Farm Bill, a grassbank campus project in Montana, the return of the ‘Herd That!’ Conference and a celebration of the Don L. Good Impact Award winner.

Feeding Quality Forum registration now open

As we approach a herd rebuild, cattlemen need confidence to navigate today’s market dynamics. This year’s Feeding Quality Forum (FQF) theme addresses just that, arming attendees with insight so they leave ready to make more-informed decisions at the ranch and feedyard to get more value for their cattle.

FQF will be hosted at the Boot Hill Casino and Resort Conference Center in Dodge City, Kan., Aug. 20-21, 2024. Half-price registration is available now until June 30 for $125. From July 1 to Aug. 2, registration costs $250. Student registration is $50. Save your seat online at https://FeedingQualityForum.com.

“Each year Feeding Quality Forum is designed to bring attendees timely and relevant information,” says Kara Lee, director of producer engagement at Certified Angus Beef (CAB). “We are excited to host some of the industry’s most qualified experts to talk through topics that matter at the ranch, the feedyard and on the rail.”

Find the full agenda, speaker list and register for the event at https://FeedingQualityForum.com.

Mike VanMaanen elected president of LMA

Mike VanMaanen married into a family of Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) members in the 1980s, but he says he never dreamed he’d one day lead the organization. Even though he immediately recognized the benefits of membership, he thought he was too busy to get involved or, since his niche market wasn’t nationally known, he didn’t have a place. He soon learned he was wrong on both accounts. May 17 he was elected the organization’s president.

The World Livestock Auctioneer Championship was VanMaanen’s gateway to LMA leadership, first serving as a judge in the Parsons, Kan., qualifier in the fall of 2009 and at the finals in Oklahoma City the following summer. He joined the association’s Government and Industry Affairs Committee in 2014 and the board of directors in 2016. During his tenure on the board, he chaired the Membership Services Committee for two years.

He says his time on the board has had many highlights, and he looks forward to what’s to come.

“I’ve had the opportunity to testify in front of the House Committee on Transportation, I worked alongside many others to get Dealer Statutory Trust signed into law, and was a part of the producer profitability initiative we launched last fall,” VanMaanen says. “I’m extremely proud of the work LMA has done and look forward to continuing it.”

VanMaanen will take over the reins from Mark Barnett during the association’s annual convention in June.

Bipartisan solution for Prop. 12 clears House Ag Committee

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) announced the U.S. House Agriculture Committee has passed its 2024 Farm Bill, which supported all of producers’ farm bill requests, including a federal fix to the host of Proposition 12 issues plaguing producers and consumers.

“The 2024 Farm Bill is a golden opportunity to address a top issue for pork producers across the country — California Proposition 12 — and I’m pleased to see the U.S. House Agriculture Committee seize the opportunity to stop a potential 50-state patchwork of differing on-farm regulations,” says NPPC President Lori Stevermer of Easton, Minn.

“At a time when bipartisanship is often a four-letter word in Washington, we applaud the House Agriculture Committee for working together to deliver a farm bill that validates America’s pork producers’ needs,” continues Stevermer. “We urge the U.S. Senate to follow suit and provide much needed certainty to pork producers and consumers across the country.”

A 2018 California ballot initiative, Proposition 12, prohibits the sale of uncooked whole pork meat not produced according to the state’s arbitrary housing dimensions. Recent USDA data indicates price spikes as high as 41% for pork in California since Prop. 12 came into effect.

The House Farm Bill also accomplishes 100% of U.S. pork producers’ priorities, including:

• preservation of necessary resources to protect the nation’s food supply through prevention of foreign animal disease;
• increase in market-access programs for U.S. pork;
• boost in resources for eradication of feral swine to protect the health of our herds; and
• authorization of the National Detector Dog Training Center, which serves as the first line of defense for early detection at ports of entry.

House Ag Committee advances Farm Bill

On May 23, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture passed the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024 by a vote of 33-21.

While the event highlighted sharp partisan divisions, the National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD) appreciates the House Committee on Agriculture taking this critical first step in advancing a farm bill that bolsters locally-led conservation.  NACD encourages committee leaders and Congress to move forward in a bipartisan and bicameral manner to pass a final bill.

NACD’s top farm bill priority to integrate all remaining Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding into the conservation title is included in the House bill, and this request is supported by Senate Ag Committee leaders. This huge opportunity to permanently increase funding for USDA conservation programs is time-sensitive, making it imperative for lawmakers to work together to pass a farm bill as soon as possible.

NCBA commends House Ag Committee for passing Farm Bill

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) thanked the House Agriculture Committee on May 24 for passing the next Farm Bill, known as the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024. This Farm Bill includes top priorities for cattlemen, including cattle health, voluntary conservation and food security provisions.

“Cattle producers are thankful that the House Agriculture Committee has advanced a farm bill that delivers on the needs of rural America,” says NCBA President and Wyoming rancher Mark Eisele. “This farm bill protects the cattle industry from foreign animal disease, supports producers’ voluntary conservation efforts and safeguards our food supply, recognizing that our food security is national security.”

Nonprofits collaborate for ag grassbank campus

Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA), a rancher-founded nonprofit based in Malta, Mont., and Winnett ACES, a grassroots-led nonprofit in central Montana are jointly announcing a partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to create a potential “grassbank campus.” If realized, the campus would serve as a physical location for continuing ag education alongside the fostering of grazing solution development to the benefit of the local ranching community and in the interest of grassland conservation.

The purpose of the campus will be to:

• Establish a grassbank in which beginning ranchers and local ranches can take advantage of grazing opportunities with possible discounts.
• Create a hands-on learning facility where ranch management and conservation practices are studied, piloted and advanced.
• Keep grasslands in ag production and under local control.
• Be a catalyst in fostering hope and excitement for the future of ranching and grassland conservation in the northern Great Plains.
• Showcase innovation and creative management solutions to equip ranchers with tools helpful in sustaining their own ranches.

A location for the potential campus has not been identified. RSA, ACES and TNC are working cooperatively in seeking a suitable ranch property.

“We view this partnership and the grassbank campus as an innovative solution to further support family ranches, which are vital for maintaining healthy and vibrant grasslands,” says Brian Martin, TNC’s Montana grasslands conservation director.

Based upon the areas of service for both RSA and ACES, the potential property would be in north-central or central Montana. Areas of interest include Valley, Phillips, Blaine, Fergus, Petroleum, Garfield and Musselshell counties.

‘Herd That!’ Conference to focus on reproduction

The fourth annual Herd That! Conference, put on by the Nebraska Women in Agriculture program and Nebraska Beef Quality Assurance Program, will be June 10-11 in North Platte.

“We are thrilled to be bringing back the Herd That! Conference for women who raise livestock or work in the livestock sector,” says Jessica Groskopf, director of Nebraska Women in Agriculture. “Livestock production is vital to our state. This event will focus on giving women the knowledge, tools and skills they need to be successful in this facet of the agricultural industry. More importantly, it will provide participants the opportunity to expand their network.”

This year’s event will kick off with a tour of TD Angus. Trey and Dayna Wasserburger operate this innovative and progressive seedstock operation near North Platte, selling 500 Angus bulls a year to more than 30 states.

The tour will be followed by dinner and keynote speaker Terryn Drieling, who grew up on a small feedyard in northeast Nebraska. When she’s not ranching, Drieling helps fellow farmers and ranchers step out of self-told lies with grace and compassion to draw good movement in conversations, relationships and life in rural America through her Good Movement trainings and coaching.

Sessions on June 11 will feature industry experts as well as Nebraska Extension professionals in several hands-on workshop opportunities that will focus on beef cattle reproduction. Topics will include safely handling hormones, bull selection, culling cows and more. During lunch, participants will have the opportunity to hear from Trust in Food to learn about the future of sustainability for livestock producers.

Registration for the event is open on the Nebraska Women in Agriculture website, https://wia.unl.edu.

Allens selected for Don L. Good Impact Award

Dell Allen, a retired Kansas State University (K-State) Department of Animal Sciences and Industry (ASI) professor and a meat industry visionary, along with his wife, Joyce, will be honored with the 2024 Don L. Good Impact Award.

The award, presented by the Livestock and Meat Industry Council Inc. (LMIC), is named in honor of Good, who is a former department head of the K-State ASI, and recognizes those who have had a positive influence on the livestock and meat industry or agriculture. The Allens will be recognized during the K-State ASI Family & Friends Reunion on Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Stanley Stout Center in Manhattan, Kan.

“Dr. Dell Allen has had a distinguished career in the livestock and meat industry. He has been a renowned researcher and meat scientist, a judging team coach, a teacher, an advocate, a mentor, and a friend to many people,” says Doug Deets, LMIC board member and former student of Dell’s. “His impact has been wide and deep. One of Dr. Good’s strongest attributes was his ability to hire top-notch people to come to the animal science department at K-State. He knocked it out of the park when he hired Dr. Allen in 1996. The impact of that hire has been huge not only for K-State, but for the livestock and meat industry as a whole.”

More information, along with registration, will be available online for the Oct. 5, K-State ASI Family & Friends Reunion at asi.ksu.edu/familyandfriends, and the reunion’s social media channels.