Feature Image L-R: Bill Bledsoe, Kay and Gerald Schreiber, Zane and Barb Leininger, Sylvia and Eldon Stoker, Adam Nuss, and Clinton Clark. Photos by Norman Kincaide.
For Immediate Release: March 31, 2023
By: R-CALF USA Field Director Karina Jones
Contact: R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard
Phone: (406) 252-2516; r-calfusa@r-calfusa.com
Heifer calf donated by Harold and Peggy Unwin at La Junta Livestock Commission, La Junta, Colo., Jan. 25, 2023.
BILLINGS, Mont. – Over the winter months, R-CALF USA hosted and attended several meetings, and numerous sale barns hosted R-CALF USA fundraisers, building momentum and support across the Midwest.
“With no shortage of cattle industry issues to tackle, R-CALF USA is finding the advocacy and lobbying work that we do more critical than ever,” said R-CALF USA Field Director Karina Jones. “R-CALF USA members, board and staff have been crisscrossing the country, engaging face to face, with cattle producers and industry stakeholders to provide education and broaden the conversation regarding the cattle industry reforms that are urgently needed.”
Over the past few months, R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard and many members of the R-CALF USA Board of Directors have traveled the country presenting to R-CALF USA state affiliates at their annual conventions and speaking to industry groups. Most recently, Bullard spoke to the Beef Production class at Iowa State University and at the Coalition for a Prosperous America Annual Conference.
“One of the greatest strengths of our organization is our people, members and board,” said Jones. “More than ever, we are seeing strong invitation to bring R-CALF USA into local communities to have meetings that educate about our legislative and litigative efforts while welcoming new members and fundraising.”
Below are some highlights of R-CALF USA’s recent meetings and fundraisers.
L-R: Harold Unwin and Jace Honey at La Junta Livestock Commission in La Junta, Colo., Jan. 25, 2023.
Creighton, Neb. – For the second year in a row, Creighton Livestock Market hosted a calf sale fundraiser on November 22, 2022. Matt Paulsen, of Paulsen Land and Cattle in Niobrara, Nebraska, donated a steer calf that raised over $6,600. R-CALF USA President and Region III Director Brett Kenzy gave the audience an update on R-CALF USA activity. Vitalix Inc. provided whip flags for those who donated over $250 and MultiMin90 provided cookies for the crowd.
“It is special to walk into an auction barn and see an R-CALF USA sign hanging by the front door, especially in the middle of Nebraska feedlot country,” said R-CALF USA Vice President and Region VII Director Eric Nelson. “It affirms that they believe in the work that R-CALF USA is doing!”
Not long after, on March 14, 2023, Paulsen, Kenzy and Nelson brought producers back together for a follow-up meeting, cohosted by Farmers Business Network, in Niobrara, Nebraska. Attendees were presented with a discussion on risks facing cattle producers and potential solutions.
“I appreciate Brett and Eric taking the time to come back to this area to put on a follow-up meeting and I thank Bill Bullard for joining us via Zoom to present his information,” said Paulsen. “We had a crowd of great producers who asked good questions. I want to see us start leading some of these conversations regarding cattle industry reforms in Nebraska.”
Crawford, Neb. – On January 3, 2023, in the middle of a tough winter for the area, Jack and Penny Dye, of Dyesville Angus in Hermosa, South Dakota, donated a heifer calf and worked with Crawford Livestock Market, for the second consecutive year, to host a calf sale fundraiser. Vitalix Inc. provided whip flags for all who donated over $250 and MultiMin90 provided cookies for all who battled the weather to support the event.
Jones faced an audience of blizzard weary cattle producers where more than $6,300 was raised. She thanked them for their support and assured them that R-CALF USA was working hard on their behalf to return profitability to cow/calf producers.
“I want to thank Crawford Livestock for hosting us and taking the time out of their busy sale to let us do this,” Dye said. “It’s been a tough winter in these parts and R-CALF USA is doing the lobbying work for all cattle producers while we are stuck at home tending to our herds.”
Crowd at La Junta Livestock Commission, in La Junta, Colo., on Jan. 25, 2023.
La Junta, Colo. – On January 25, 2023, La Junta Livestock Commission hosted the final calf sale fundraiser for the winter 2023 season. Harold and Peggy Unwin, of the Unwin Family Ranch in Pritchett, Colorado, donated a heifer calf which resulted in more than $26,000 raised with support coming in from all over Colorado.
“Feeding out all of our calves since 2016 has given me a first-hand account of how broken our fat cattle market is,” Unwin said. “With so much skin in the cattle feeding game, I found that no one else other than R-CALF USA was fighting to expose the problems of concentration and power that packers have over us cattle producers. That is why I choose to support R-CALF USA and I am grateful for everyone’s support of this fundraiser.”
Former R-CALF USA President Gerald Schreiber gave the crowd an R-CALF USA update.
“With the generous amount of money raised, it affirmed that we were among like-minded cattle producers,” Schreiber shared about the day. “La Junta Livestock, Jace Honey and his crew, and the Southern Colorado Livestock Association did a phenomenal job of putting on this event.”
Gerald Schreiber spoke during the calf sale on Jan. 25, 2023.
Martin, S.D. – On March 22, 2023, Martin Livestock Auction hosted a meeting alongside the South Dakota Stockgrowers Association (SDSGA), R-CALF USA and Farmers Business Network. Nearly 60 local cattle producers gathered to engage and learn more about the issues that SDSGA and R-CALF USA are fighting for on their behalf.
“Joe Waln and his crew here at Martin Livestock Auction did a great job bringing our community out tonight,” R-CALF USA Region X Director Eric Gropper said. “The strength of numbers that turned out tonight is really affirming that they support what R-CALF USA is doing and they want to learn more.”
“As cattle producers it will not be enough to stay at home and calve cows and put up hay,” Kenzy said. “We are all going to have to get engaged in the fight for our future in this industry. That is what I saw tonight, producers becoming engaged!”
R-CALF USA is set apart from all other national cattle associations because it relies solely on membership dues and donations to carry out its mission to ensure the continued profitability and independence of United States cattle producers. R-CALF USA exists only because of support from independent cattle producers who pay their membership dues and by cattle producers, main-street businesses, and other individuals who participate in and contribute to fundraising events.
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Ranchers Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF USA) is the largest producer-only trade association in the United States. It is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the continued profitability and viability of the U.S. cattle industry. For more information visit www.r-calfusa.com or call (406) 252-2516.
