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| Russ, if you get a chance you should check out the Lonesome Lands podcasts with Jim Mundorf and Shad Sullivan. Shad is the chairman of the R-CALF private property committee and a friend. He's done a lot of research on the Biden 30 by 30 initiative which called for 30% of the US land and water to be controlled by the government by 2030. The The Global Round Table for Sustainable Beef fully supported that plan and NCBA is a member of GRSB as are the major packers (no surprise there), though I did hear that the cattlemen's friend JBS has dropped out. Another good listen are the You Tube videos with Tracy Hunt a WY ranchers and attorney speaking at the R-CALF convention about GRSB.
The point is, is that a lot of the so called representatives of AG are nothing but corporate shills as you found out with Farm Bureau. They might talk a good game, but in the end they are owned by the big money in AG. That is why grass roots organizations are so important. You can send a slimy lobbyist to Washington, but they tend to listen to constituents calling. There are some good people in Washington. At the head of the list is WY Rep. Harriet Hageman. Harriet (also an attorney) who represented a lot of ranchers and farmers in law suits with the federal government and has as has been a speaker the last few years at the R-CALF convention.
The most important thing is educating people about what is actually going on behind the scenes and what their rights are. R-CALF has been having a private property rights work shop the day before their convention. The late Dr. Angus MacIntosh led these work shops and was an expert in grazing rights and helped a lot ranchers in their dealings with the Forest Service and BLM. Quite a few of the R-CALF members I know have grazing permits and were once NCBA members. They left for the reasons mentioned above. The R-Calf affiliate Colorado Independent CattleGrowes Association has spent a lot of time and money fighting the wolf introduction in CO. The ballot initiative could of been defeated as it narrowly passed. NCBA affiliate Colorado Cattlemens Association refused to join a coalition that included sportsman groups or it might of been defeated. Later it came to light that CCA received a big donation to fight this and didn't want to share any of the money.
So yes, there are groups fighting the same battles you face Russ. They might not have the budget (check off money) NCBA has. But they are people passionate about the issues and realize that they are fighting for their futures. | |
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Would this move the cattle market?
