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Stenholm, Avery, Blach highlight KLA convention programKansas A former Texas congressman and perpetual advocate for agriculture will explain implications of the proposed ban on processing horses for human consumption at the Kansas Livestock Association Convention in Wichita. The convention will take place Dec. 4 and 5 at the Wichita Hyatt and adjoining Century II Convention Center. Additional topics on the program are the potential economic damage that could be inflicted by attempts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and how the worldwide financial crisis will affect demand for U.S. beef. Former U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm is working to defeat proposed federal legislation that would ban the processing of horses for human consumption. As a senior policy advisor for the Washington, D.C., firm of Olsson Frank Weeda, Stenholm continues to tell members of Congress provisions of the legislation will do more to harm horses than to achieve the purpose of protecting animal welfare. The former ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Ag Committee uses as a "living example" legal action in Texas and Illinois that closed the last U.S. horse processing plants and led to a dramatic increase in documented cases of abandoned and neglected horses. Another key livestock industry concern expressed by Stenholm is the negative precedent of banning a food item for reasons other than public health and the spillover affect it would have on the remainder of the food supply, including beef. His presentation, sponsored by Micro Beef Technologies, also will include a forecast for priorities under the new presidential administration. Stenholm will assess what changes in Congress will mean for issues important to agriculture. KLA Beef Industry University, sponsored by the Farm Credit Associations of Kansas, will feature a discussion about the controversy surrounding the man-made greenhouse gas theory. Director of the Hudson Institute Center for Global Food Issues Dennis Avery will provide objective evidence the earth's climate cycles are naturally occurring. He has studied the data and learned, for example, the earth warmed from 1850 to 1940, well in advance of the first substantial greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the human population. Avery has gone on record saying it would be a "horrible mistake" to reorganize society around weak energy sources such as wind and solar when man's role in climate change is so questionable. Joining Avery on the BIU panel will be Sara Hessenflow Harper, a partner in The Clark Group. Her company focuses on climate change and low carbon markets for agriculture. She will outline how climate change regulation will affect agriculture and give the reasons agriculture should be involved in the global warming debate. Harper previously served as national security and climate analyst for Environmental Defense, and as a legislative assistant to both Sens. Sam Brownback and Chuck Hagel. The final BIU speaker will be CattleFax Executive Vice President Randy Blach. He will analyze how upheaval in the overall economy will affect producers' ability to sell cattle and beef during 2009. His insightful presentation will cover prospects for grain prices, worldwide beef demand, credit availability and the cattle market. The widely respected Blach will offer suggestions for how producers can cope with extremely volatile commodity markets. Six speakers will spend 10 minutes each sharing information on separate subjects. This rapid-fire program, sponsored by Elanco, will include time for producers to ask questions. Presenters and topics will be: Kansas State University Professor of Production Medicine and Epidemiology Dan Thomson on the need for producers to share positive animal care stories with the consuming public; Bryan Rickard, manager of the National Animal Identification System program for the Kansas Animal Health Department, on how premises registration can protect the livestock inventories of producers through quicker disease traceback; K-State Professor of Ag Economics Ted Schroeder on how the new web-based Cattle Feeding Return Risk Analyzer works; KLA Vice President and General Counsel Allie Devine with an update on complying with mandatory country-of-origin labeling; K-State Professor of Cow-Calf Management KC Olson with suggestions for how producers can cut costs; and KLA Assistant Legal Counsel John Donley on items routinely used by livestock producers that are exempt from sales tax. The Kansas Beef Council and Kansas CattleWomen will host a Consumer Trends Forum at the KLA Convention. Keynote speaker Jim Ethridge, a member of the Beef Innovations Group, will demonstrate new products discovered through checkoff research. KLA President Tracy Brunner will assess the state of the livestock industry during an address to the general membership. The Ramona cattleman has represented fellow members during a very challenging year. He'll review some of the successes achieved by KLA, and summarize challenges that lie ahead. Brunner will join fellow members for policy meetings held at the KLA Convention. He encourages members to review current KLA policy and be prepared to discuss these and other issues during committee and council meetings. KLA President Elect Todd Allen of Wichita will give special recognition to a number of individuals. The list includes members who have belonged to KLA for 50 and 60 years, Kansas Livestock Foundation scholarship recipients, top KLA membership recruiters and graduates of the KLA Young Stockmen's Academy. Many of the convention activities will revolve around the equipment, technology and service displays in the KLA trade show. Producers will have an opportunity to talk with exhibitors about products and services that improve business efficiency. A complete schedule and registration form are available on www.kla.org, in the November/December Kansas Stockman or by calling the KLA office at 785-273-5115. All livestock producers are welcome to attend. KLA works to advance members' common business interests on legislative, regulatory and industry issues affecting producers at both the state and federal levels. The association's work is funded through voluntary dues dollars paid by its members. 11/10/08 Date: 11/6/08 Advertisement
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