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SD Stockgrowers host dynamite conventionSouth Dakota The South Dakota Stockgrowers Association again hosted one of the area's best cattle industry events; the Annual Convention was held Sept. 11 and 12, in Rapid City, S.D. President Larry Nelson, Buffalo, S.D., and Vice President Kenny Fox, Belvidere, S.D., were both unanimously re-elected for a second one-year term. According to the organization by-laws, this will be the final year for Nelson and Fox to hold those positions, as the president and vice president may serve a maximum of two one-year terms. Meeting-goers had the chance to hear William Perry Pendley, property rights attorney with the Mountain States Legal Foundation, Lakewood, Colo., Montana rancher Maxine Korman; property rights attorney Fred Kelly Grant, Nampa, Idaho; local rancher and cattle buyer Howard Huxtable; Missouri cattle producer Ray Cunio; Assistant Director, Food and Water Watch, Patty Lovera, Washington, DC; Organization for Competitive Markets legal counsel Michael Stumo; S.D. Beef Industry Council Director Barry Jennings; Meade County Director of Equalization Kirk Chafee; Pete Gober, U.S. Fish and Wildlife; Bob Paulson, Nature Conservancy; local rancher Joe Logue and many more at the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn. Nelson commended the committee chairmen and SDSGA Executive Director Margaret Nachtigall for lining up exceptional committee speakers. "The caliber of our committee speakers was unbeatable--William Perry Pendley and Fred Kelly Grant, just to name a couple, are nationally renowned speakers and have been friends of the independent cattle industry for years." Nelson said they aren't professional speakers, but are "movers and shakers" in the property rights realm. Nelson said two interesting and informative committee meetings he attended were the Property Rights Committee, with Grant as the speaker and the Ag and Natural Resources Committee who heard from Korman. "Maxine spoke about chains of title to property and urged individuals purchasing property to conduct research about the history of the many rights tied to that property, including water rights, mineral rights, surface rights and so on. She said that even though it is common practice to purchase title insurance against unknown encumbrances, it is best to find out before purchasing the property what rights have been sold or leased and to whom. Although this research can be time consuming, it is worthwhile," said Nelson. "Fred Kelly Grant talked about the importance of local governments and individuals exercising their rights when it comes to federal and state projects and actions in their communities." Nelson said that Grant had recently spent time in Texas with several counties that were facing encroachment of the intrusive so-called NAFTA Superhighway. "He said that those counties, through good planning and persistence have either slowed or stopped the progression of the highway. Mr. Grant gives rural people hope that we can have a say in the future of our homes and communities. That instead of just accepting whatever is thrown at us, we have the right to insist state and federal government bureaucracies modify their plans to fit our needs and wants." Fox also enjoyed hearing Grant and said one important point made during his presentation was for counties to use the term "coordinate" rather than "cooperate" when they are preparing county plans to deal with the federal government. According to Fox, Ray Cunio was another exceptional speaker. "Ray has led the fight against the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) and was successful in working with others in Missouri to pass legislation to protect producers from NAIS." Fox said he was thrilled to see the generosity of Stockgrower members during fundraising auctions to support a lobbyist. "I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the support from our members who donated their hard-earned money for this important and necessary cause. I especially appreciate Brent Fox for coming up with the idea of a slave auction as one of the fundraisers and all of the young folks who donated their services." According to Fox, the members voted to give the youth who donated their time for the slave auction a free SDSGA membership for one year. More than $7,000 was raised in two fundraising auctions to fund a lobbyist for the 2009 legislative session, said Fox. New policies dealing with genetically modified alfalfa, personal rights and others were adopted during the membership meeting. The members also chose to renew their affiliation with R-CALF USA. For a copy of the SDSGA 2008-2009 policy, please contact the office at 605-342-0429. 9/29/08 Date: 10/23/08 Advertisement
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