The summer video season has officially begun with an auspicious start. Prices were extremely strong, and premiums for AngusVerified^SM and the Genetic Merit Scorecard^SM appear to be maintaining the historically high levels we saw a year ago.

The marketplace is the great arbitrator in our industry, and it has spoken loud and clear in favor of Angus genetics and of those who have invested in their program by employing a disciplined approach to breeding objectives.

Of course, it could be argued that today’s price levels have a potential downside, as well. They tend to give the impression that the obstacles to our industry have been removed; but, that is most certainly not the case.

I recently attended the Livestock Marketing Association’s (LMA) convention in Oklahoma City, where there was significant discussion surrounding the challenges the industry faces as it relates to profitability and sustainability.

The downside of commodity marketplaces is that they lead almost by definition to industry concentration, industry consolidation and lower margins. There is probably no better evidence of the challenges we face than the fact our industry has continued to see liquidation in the face of historically high prices. Interest rates, extremely high input costs, difficulty in finding labor, access to land, overregulation and well-funded opposition to livestock production in general are all challenges.

Unity on Capitol Hill is an essential component to success. The industry’s division and inability to speak in a unified fashion has not been productive.

The folks in Washington, D.C. — and a lot of state capitals — seem committed to policies that will lead to higher inflation, higher taxes and more regulation, none of which are conducive to the success of small businesses (ranchers). In the face of these challenges, LMA has been conducting listening sessions gathering input from producers on what we, as an industry, can agree on.

These sessions have produced numerous takeaways, but perhaps none as important as the need for the industry to speak with a unified voice. Unity on Capitol Hill is an essential component to success. The industry’s division and inability to speak in a unified fashion has not been productive. Unity, as a concept, seems overly simple. Nobody disputes the power of speaking with a unified voice or its necessity. It is not hard to come up with broad goals that most of the industry supports, but it can become contentious when we start to debate how to accomplish those goals.

I salute LMA for seeing the need and making the effort to start a grassroots effort to improve unity within our industry. Personally, I would go as far as to say that not only is there a need for our industry to unify around areas of agreement, but even if our industry were speaking with one voice it might be insufficient. We need to broaden our coalitions, not narrow them.

When I searched unity, this is a definition I found: