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SD Stockgrowers done with brand inspection contractSouth Dakota As of July 1, the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association will no longer oversee the brand inspection program for the state of South Dakota. The South Dakota Brand Board chose not to renew the contract with the Stockgrowers, and will take over brand inspection duties as of tomorrow, says SDSGA Vice President Kenny Fox, Belvidere, S.D. "The Brand Board has not contacted us to tell us who they have hired as inspectors. Livestock owners should contact the Brand Board in order to line up a brand inspector or call the Governor's office for any questions or concerns they might have," he said. Fox said the phone number to the Brand Board office is: 605-773-3324 and the phone number to the Governor's office is: 605-773-3212. SDSGA President Larry Nelson said the Stockgrowers are grateful to Jim Reed who has dedicated 16 years to the cattle industry as South Dakota's Chief Brand Inspector, and spent many more years as a full time brand inspector in various towns. They also appreciate Brand Inspection Administrative Assistant Cathy Banning who has spent 18 years overseeing the office. "I don't know of a more conscientious and diligent pair than those two. They work like a well-oiled machine--recording and filing brand inspection data, managing brand inspectors across the state and finding rightful owners for livestock holds. I credit those two individuals greatly for the success this brand inspection program has enjoyed these past sixteen plus years. They are the type of people that often go unnoticed because they do their jobs so efficiently and quietly. They will leave some large shoes to fill." Additionally, Nelson said the Stockgrowers appreciate all of the other brand inspectors who have served the industry. "This program would not have been successful without the full time inspectors or the many, many local and part time inspectors and shippers' agents. Many of these folks were basically donating their time and resources in an effort to make sure that the brand inspection program worked." Former Brand Board member Lyndell Peterson, Hermosa, S.D., is another individual who deserves recognition, says Nelson. "Lyndell recently resigned from the Brand Board because he didn't agree with their takeover of the inspection program. But he has spent the last three years or more trying to ensure that the Brand Board will carry out their legal responsibilities in a sensible manner. He has always been an ally to the cattle industry, but as a member of the Brand Board he went above and beyond in an effort to bring a common sense point of view to their meetings." Fox said that the other brand board members stated that they didn't agree with the Stockgrowers' politics, and didn't like the fact that the Stockgrowers were spending their profit from the brand inspection program to further their political agenda. "They might not have agreed with our stance on political issues, but that was a poor reason to not renew the contract. We were entitled to use our profits in any way we chose. We earned that money honestly, carrying out a contract that both sides agreed to." Besides that, Fox said that the Stockgrowers are the largest cattle organization in the state, which indicates that their political positions are widely supported. "We stand strong on important issues for independent producers--I don't believe there are very many ranchers or farmers in South Dakota who disagree with our politics." Fox said a handful of the issues they've worked on recently include: Country of Origin Labeling, property rights--helping with a lawsuit against state because the state would not carry out their duties of controlling prairie dogs, also standing up for property owners on the non-meandering lakes issue that affected Northeastern South Dakota; opposing the eminent domain law (SB 174); opposing the National Animal Identification System; continually fighting to keep the border closed to Canadian cattle after Canada's BSE problem was exposed; helping inform people of the hunting lockout; and supporting open fields legislation. "Our political agenda will not change and the Stockgrowers will not slow down our efforts to better the cattle industry. With our without the brand inspection contract, we will represent producers on local, state and national cattle industry issues just the same as always," said Fox. Signatures gathered across the state indicate very strong support for the Stockgrowers' continued administration of the brand inspection program, said Fox. "Over 1,200 brand owners signed their names in favor of the Stockgrowers, while just 2 brand owners said they would prefer that the Stockgrowers didn't run the program." Those are some pretty strong statistics. And they aren't just Stockgrower members--they are brand owners across the state. Fox also mentioned that the Brand Board, after publicly scolding the Stockgrowers and their inspectors, is now planning to operate the brand inspection program using most of the same inspectors and will be basing their budget on the Stockgrowers' old budget. "How ironic that the inspectors who, a few years ago were accused by the state of all sorts of wrongdoing are now mostly the same inspectors who the state asked to work for them. We defended our inspectors from day one, as we believed they were doing their jobs to the best of their abilities, plus we had always reprimanded any of our employees who had intentionally done anything wrong," said Fox. "And another major complaint we've heard from this brand board is that we didn't budget our income and expenses appropriately, but now that they will be running the program, they are using our budget as a basis for the coming year's finances. It just proves how baseless their complaints, accusations and implications have been all along." "I hope that producers who have problems or concerns will contact the state Brand Board, the governor's office or their legislators and tell them what they believe is the problem, and how they'd like to see it fixed. We as producers are the owners and financiers of this program, and it is our responsibility, as an industry, to ensure that it remains successful," Fox said. 7/21/08 Date: 7/16/08 Advertisement
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