For Immediate Release: December 30, 2020

Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard

Phone: 406-252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com

 

Billings, Mont. – Launched December 16, the cattle industry’s first-ever “Cattle Industry Long Range Plan,” completed by the 13-member board of directors of R-CALF USA, incorporates key principles to lead the U.S. cattle industry into the future and guide public policy decisions that impact the industry.

In this second part of the group’s four-part series, R-CALF USA focuses on the third and fourth strategies of the long-range plan for independent cattle producers:

  • Preserve and Protect the Liberties and Freedoms of U.S. Independent Cattle Producers
  • Reform the Cattle Industry’s Legal and Regulatory Framework So U.S. Cattle Producers Can Protect the Marketplace On Their Own

“These two strategies comprise the heart and soul of the plan as they speak directly to the core values held by America’s independent cattle producers,” said R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.

Speaking to the first strategy Bullard added, “The freedom to conduct their individual cattle operations the way they choose, without interference from the heavy hands of government and monopolistic corporations is a core value embraced by our thousands of cattle-producer members.”

He said the group’s ongoing legal battle to stop the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from mandating that every cattle producer uses radio frequency identification (RFID) eartags and registers their premises with the government exemplifies adherence to a value system that prioritizes freedom and liberty.

Speaking to the second strategy, Bullard said United States cattle producers have been ill-served by a legal and regulatory system in which had to rely on others within the industry to preserve and protect marketplace competition.

“America’s cattle producers cannot be independent if they continue to depend on government bureaucrats to preserve and protect the very market from which their independence is derived.”

Bullard explained that cattle producers waited years before the government showed any inclination to address what every producer knew was a broken marketplace. He said it was not until the Tyson fire in Kansas and the additional market disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that the government took any meaningful notice of the dysfunctional cattle market.

“Independent producers must play a much larger role in protecting competition in the marketplace and the long-range plan will help them make that happen,” he concluded.

Several of R-CALF USA’s Board of Directors will participate in a Facebook Live Meeting at 7:00 p.m. MST today to delve into these two important strategies contained in the first-ever long-range plan for cattle producers. The public is invited to participate.

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R-CALF USA (Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America) is the largest producer-only lobbying and trade association representing U.S. cattle producers. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. Visit www.r-calfusa.com or, call 406-252-2516 for more information.