Neighbor Helping Neighbor — It’s the Cattlemen Way

By Terry Stokes, NCBA CEO

“Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are, than we had supposed.”

— William James, American philosopher and psychologist

Never have these words rung more true than in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Many lives have been tragically lost, while thousands of others have been turned completely upside down from the loss of homes, jobs, property and possessions.

But this time of horrible tragedy offers an opportunity for each of us to discover what we are really made of, by finding ways to assist those devastated by this storm. Helping neighbors in need has always been one of the strong character traits that has defined the heritage of cattlemen. 

We all have stories of our neighbors helping us in times of need, or us helping them.   I can remember our home burning down when I was a kid, and neighbors providing us with food, clothes and household items to give us a new start.  There is something special and rewarding about helping each other in times of crisis, and this is a hallmark trait of our nation’s cattlemen.

I encourage all cattlemen to contribute to the hurricane relief effort as much as they can. The American Red Cross, Salvation Army and other relief agencies are doing tremendous work to help those left homeless and hungry by this tragedy. Shelters across the nation are in need of donations to help house and feed evacuees, and eventually get them back on their feet again. 

 But through NCBA, your state cattlemen’s organizations and state beef councils, you also have the opportunity to provide aid directly to your fellow farm and ranch families that were hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. These operations are truly in a time of crisis, and every day is critical to their ability to recover and salvage whatever the storm has not destroyed.

Many of you have already contributed financially through the National Cattlemen’s Foundation, which has collected over $15,000 in donations to date. The Texas Cattle Feeders Association kicked off the Cattlemen’s Katrina Fund with a $25,000 donation to the Red Cross, with a goal of raising $1 million over 45 days. Other relief efforts led by our state organizations and state beef councils are providing food and financial assistance to help farm and ranch families and other evacuees.

Many have donated badly needed supplies to help with the rebuilding and recovery effort. To date, more than 40 semi-trailer loads of fencing materials, feed, lumber, generators and other crucial supplies have been donated. 

Special thanks go out to Bob Felknor, Sammy Blossom, Dr. Billy Powell, Tubby Smith, Melanie Sojourner and others who are working tirelessly in Louisiana, Mississippi and neighboring states to help coordinate these relief efforts. John Braly and Courtney Pollock, in our office, have done a great job coordinating donations and getting them to the right place.  

Lack of power, communications and passable roads have created major challenges in collecting supplies and directing them where they are needed. But these folks are doing whatever it takes to set up staging areas and distribution centers, load trucks, and coordinate transportation and delivery. 

State beef councils have also stepped up in a big way to provide food for evacuees and displaced families across the Gulf Coast region, and in shelters across the nation. Individual beef councils have donated large amounts of beef jerky and other shelf-stable beef products to food banks and shelters.

Collectively, state beef councils approved an initial $100,000 investment for obtaining and distributing similar products along with nutrition information — an effort that received approval from USDA. And to date, state beef councils have pledged an additional $70,000 for this effort.

This effort also gained further momentum through the generosity of Oberto Sausage Company of Seattle, which provided beef jerky at a deep discount. Oberto also donated the freight services necessary to deliver shipments to Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. This was very helpful in allowing us to feed as many hungry evacuees in as many locations as possible.

Neighbors helping neighbors is a tradition that runs deep with the farm and ranch families of rural America. In this time of terrible catastrophe, let’s consider all the families affected by Hurricane Katrina — no matter how distant they may be — to be our neighbors, our friends, our family.

I thank all of you for the generous contributions you have provided so far, and hope you will continue to support the efforts to rebuild and recover from this tragic storm.  A long hard road lies ahead for thousands of displaced families. But if we all pull together, we can give them a helping hand and a fresh start.  Neighbors helping neighbors is the cattlemen’s way.