The saying "if the markets don't get you, the weather will" certainly has been appropriate the last few years. Through it all, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association has stood ready to help producers on Capitol Hill, with drought relief packages and, this year, hurricane damage assistance.
"Our industry has a history of helping out when hard times hit," says Jim McAdams, Texas cattle producer and NCBA president-elect. "That's why the cattlemen of NCBA decided we needed to reach beyond Congress and establish a permanent tax-deductible disaster relief fund, which we set up this fall."
While drought has occupied many minds the last couple years, this fall saw Florida and Southeast cattlemen suffer from the exact opposite - too much water. True to the rural values, cattlemen have stepped forward to offer what assistance they can - hay, fencing materials and sometimes money.
Perhaps one of the best examples of these voluntary efforts is in Yavapaii County in Arizona. Cattlemen trying to make a living there during the Great Depression found the going tough and the dollars rare. Life wasn't much different for their national association, the American National Livestock Association. But the Yavapaii cattlemen were dedicated to the success of their national organization, which was one of the predecessor groups of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
With money in short supply in 1933, they cashed in some of their calves at $11 per head, supplemented those funds with donations and made a $1,000 donation to the national organization. In 1933, it helped the national association avoid bankruptcy.
Every year since then, the Yavapaii County Cattlemen's Association has sponsored an annual barbecue and calf sale, returning some of the proceeds from the event to NCBA. This year's event was held Oct. 2.
Since 1933, the Yavapaii County Cattlemen's Association has donated $1,000 to $2,000 per year to the national association. The event, which added a barbecue in 1935, has become a way for Yavapaii County cattlemen to interact with the public, share information about the industry and renew their commitment to the national organization.
This year Steve Moreland of Merrimam, Neb., took a more personal approach. He recently held his own calf sale to benefit NCBA. "I told the sale barn (Valentine Livestock Auction) to just sell it once and not kill a lot of time," he said. "Anyway, the calf brought $900 and $10.74 was withheld for sales expense. The check to you (NCBA) is in the mail."
"These types of voluntary support reflect the value of the work we do for cattlemen," says McAdams. "Through the years, NCBA members quietly have made contributions above their dues fees to support the ongoing work of the association."
NCBA policy efforts on Capitol Hill are entirely dues funded, including issues such as drought relief, grazing rights, trade issues and ending the Death Tax. For information about NCBA or to contribute to the permanent tax-deductible disaster relief fund, call 303-694-0305.