Cattlemen- Independent and adversarial 'til death

There is no one who works harder to maintain independence than the cattle producer.

None, in agriculture, place themselves more at the mercy of the weather, markets, imports and regulation than the men and women who have a chunk of land and draw their livelihood from the livestock they sell. Protest movements have always found support from these naturally adversarial cattle ranchers, but the R-CALF group finally got the bright star to stand over them in 2003. For awhile, it looked like they were going to gain fame and realign the structure of the livestock industry. Now we are seeing R-CALF fighting within its ranks and this display of grassroots strength may have been just a streaking comet that will vanish into the darkness.

The Ranchers-Cattlemen's Action Legal Fund (R-CALF) formed in the northwest ranch country and has opposed Canadian imports since its inception. IBP took action in the 1980s and 1990s to ship in Canadian cattle as a substantial part of its slaughter supply. This infuriated U.S. cattlemen, especially when IBP's outspoken president stated that the company was opposed to importing beef.

The BSE scare of late 2003 prompted the border closure and eliminated the packer's source of Canadian cattle which strengthened U.S. prices. This appeared to have proven R-CALF's premise and, as a result, activism and membership shot upward. The goal then seemed to be to keep the north fence up and start building and fortifying others. R-CALF chose to use the courts to do so and it clearly was an effective means to bog down the bureaucratic system.

Thanks to Canada not gaining control of BSE , and the U.S. luckily not having any substantial outbreak, R-CALF should be credited with the length of time the border remains closed to older Canadian cattle. All of the posturing between our two nations may have slowed the opening of Asian markets to North American beef, but those far eastern countries could teach us a lot about the fine art of protectionism.

All this brings us to the politics of R-CALF and the inevitable evolution of the organization. When you are a protest group, little is off limits. You can cry out about any simple offending act and make extreme claims. But, when you become mainstream, this all changes. Media and association members hold you to an increasing level of accountability. Your every word and action is scrutinized and as you become a threat to the status quo (NCBA in this case) you begin to pick-up detractors who will discredit any action.

R-CALF came under attack from two fronts: NCBA loyalists, who saw the organization as an adversary or embarrassment, and Firebrands who felt "their" organization was selling out to the establishment. There is now a website, www.swifthorses.com, that is documenting every move made by the organization. In the new era of instant Internet communication, a rumor can buzz through the whole cattle sector by just expanding the sender's list and forwarding.

R-CALF has now become a soap opera, to the delight of some and misery of others. In the latest episode, following the departure of founder Leo McDonnell, Chuck Kiker was elected president. Kiker and CEO, Bill Bullard, were of different minds on how to run the organization. Bullard bulled ahead and Kiker cut him off. Bullard used his influence and the board "impeached" Kiker. Wow! "Days of our Lives" was never this good!

My inquiry to the swifthorses website was answered anonymously (at least with my Internet skills) but the sender declared that the website was being used as a resource for information that "won't be forthcoming from any other source." The response stated: "We have absolutely no affiliation with NCBA. Everyone involved with Swift Horses was or is an R-CALF member."

As a result of the Kiker removal, the Washington, D.C. staff quit, including Bill Hawks, former USDA head of marketing and regulatory programs in the Veneman and Johanns era. Establishing a Washington, D.C. office, and making the hire of the high profile Hawks, made it clear R-CALF was moving toward working within the system. This apparently alienated the rebellious members who viewed the action as "selling out to the establishment." Now it's own members seem to be pulling it apart.

In its brief heyday, R-CALF claimed 15,000 independent cattle producers. NCBA documents 29,000 members of its organization throughout the beef industry. The total number of cattle producers, according to the USDA requirement to recall the beef check-off, is close to one million. That shows how few are willing to financially support an organization, and why the folks inside the farm gate are price takers rather than market makers. Love it or hate it, R-CALF showed that a unified action by grassroots people, who put their business on the line, can make a difference. It also showed that most of these people won't stay with a cause that turns into an organization, because they don't trust organizations.

Being independent, at all costs, is a tough job!

Editor's note: Ken Root is now celebrating his 34th year as an agricultural professional. His career began as a vocational agriculture teacher then turned to agricultural broadcasting and writing as well as environmental consulting and association management. He was the original host of AgriTalk (1994-2001) and now is lead farm broadcaster for WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa.

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4/9/07

1 Star WK

Date: 4/5/07

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