Large Turnout for Missouri Cattlemen’s Association “Q&A Tour” with NCBA

*Pictures from this meeting are available at www.beef.org in the newsroom section.

Over 700 Missouri cattlemen and beef industry representatives attended open forums at seven locations on a cross-state tour through Missouri.  The “Q&A Tour,” sponsored by the Missouri Cattlemen's Association (MCA), included G. Chandler Keys, III of the National Cattlemen's Beef Associations (NCBA) as well as several MCA staff and officers.  Keys is the vice president of the Center of Public Policy in Washington, D.C., where he directs the legislative, regulatory and political activities for the NCBA.

This tour not only provided Keys an opportunity to address the local cattlemen on the current issues that are affecting them, he also provided some background into what actually goes on in the Washington, D.C., office.  Following his presentation, cattlemen had an opportunity to address any concerns or questions that they may have in regards to the NCBA's policies, decisions or current issues.

Keys discussed several different aspects related to NCBA’s position in Washington, D.C.  Animal health, food safety, nutrition, environment, trade, taxes and marketing were the primary discussion areas.  When discussing trade associations Keys also raised the question of the 80/20 rule.

"Why is it that we only focus on the 20 percent of the time that we disagree with someone and not on the 80 percent of the time that we all get along.  No one gets along with anyone 100 percent of the time.  I don’t even get along with my dog 100 percent of the time."

"The efforts of the NCBA and the MCA are to enhance and promote the economic, educational, political and social interest of all cattle producers," stated Chris Buechle, Executive Vice President for the Missouri Cattlemen's Association.  "This tour was an excellent way of reaching out to our member base and getting a feel for what issues they are concerned about and how they feel the NCBA and the MCA can help them approach these issues."

The Missouri Cattlemen's Association represents the state's beef producers in the legislative and public policy arena and serves membership from 107 of 114 counties across the state.