SDCA educates producers with top notch speakers during convention

South Dakota

The South Dakota Cattlemen's Association brought many well recognized speakers to Pierre recently for the 58th Annual Convention and Trade Show.

The keynote speaker was Bruce Knight, USDA Undersecretary of Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Knight spoke to producers about USDA's proposed National Animal Identification System, which Knight reiterated would be a strictly voluntary program. Knight emphasized that he has gone on the record numerous times to explain why it makes good sense to keep the animal identification program voluntary at the federal level. "Most importantly, around the country, producers--the backbone of the system--have told USDA their preference is a voluntary system. It's their livelihood, their business information and, quite simply, it should be their choice to participate," said Knight.

Knight is actively promoting the system and encouraging producers all across the country to register their premises. The number of premises registered across the country stands today at more than 333,000 and continues to rise each week. With USDA's recent release of the draft User Guide for animal identification, producers interested in animal ID now have a comprehensive guide that explains what the system is and how it can help protect their operations and communities from the potentially devastating effects of serious animal disease events.

SDCA was also pleased to have Senator John Thune address general membership during the annual membership meeting held Thursday afternoon (Dec. 7). Thune focused on the new Democratic majority in Washington D.C. and how this shift is likely to impact agricultural policy in the coming year. Thune's priorities include working on disaster relief for South Dakota producers and the 2007 farm bill.

Andy Gottschalk, addressed producers during lunch on Wednesday (Dec. 6), when he shared his insight regarding the markets. Andy's presentation discussed upcoming cattle inventories, which he predicts should increase by approximately 800,000 head on Jan. 1. Drought conditions in many cow-calf regions have accelerated the cyclical culling of cows, which Gottschalk believes will limit the growth in the calf crop size and temper selling pressure. However, he also noted that prices will likely adjust lower to reflect the increased cost of corn. Gottschalk also points out that producing what the consumer wants at a competitive price remains the industry's greatest challenge.

John Queen, NCBA president-elect spoke about the benefits of NCBA membership and how NCBA works on the national level to achieve the goals of producers.

Queen discussed several issues that NCBA has been actively lobbying in Washington, including many environmental and regulatory issues that would be detrimental to cattlemen.

Other educational forums during the SDCA convention include Cattlemen's College and a series of breakout sessions. During the annual Cattlemen's College, Glenn Smith of AgInfoLink spoke to producers about the importance of animal ID and traceability systems to the food industry as tools to improve business performance, promote food safety, and ensure regulatory compliance. Dr. Gary Sides of Pfizer Animal Health also addressed producers during Cattlemen's College, discussing how beef marbling improvements start at the ranch and the importance of herd health management.

Educational breakout sessions provided insight on a variety of topics. The vaccinations update session with Intervet's Dr. Bill Burdett stressed the need for good biosecurity as it relates to the prevention of diseases such as BVD. Dr. Larry Corah spoke to producers about declining beef quality grades and the Certified Angus Beef Program. Estate planning and Canadian trade issues were also addressed.

Larry Gabriel, Secretary of Agriculture; Steve Cutler, Director of the Farm Service Agency; Bill Even, Governor's Office of Economic Development; Benjamin Ready, Senator Thune's office, and Maeve King, Representative Herseth's office were on hand Thursday night to answer questions from producers.

South Dakota Cattlemen's Association is working to advance the interests of South Dakota's Cattlemen through the representation and promotion of the beef industry.

Date: 12/20/06

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