ALLIED BULLetin Opportunity of a Lifetime... Fall 2015
By Jared Wareham, Allied Genetic Resources
Two of the most essential, intangible skills that a young entrepreneur needs to sharpen are networking and perspective. Building relationships and developing a matrix of connections within your industry opens door after door often leading to increased success and stability. Furthermore, to operate with savvy and intelligence about your industry, you must know how every moving part works, what its role is, how each one affects the others, and be able to spot change coming before it arrives. Attending the Young Cattlemen’s Conference (YCC) provides the exact opportunity to put a razor’s edge on both. For ten days, I traveled cross-country, learned, and bonded with 60 other cattlemen and women from all over our country. Included in that group were a significant number of NCBA staff and leading industry professionals from companies like JBS, Cargill, Cattlefax, John Deere, McDonald’s, and more. By the end of the trip I possessed a rolodex full of lifelong friends and an expanded understanding of just how complex and important each piece of the beef industry was. First stop: Denver, Colorado. Our first few days were spent understanding the roles of NCBA and their importance as a lobbying force in Washington, D.C., an educational leader with consumers and activist groups, and as a research and support group for cattlemen nationwide. The battles our industry faces with consumer confidence, education, and negative social media campaigns are real and the countering efforts of NCBA are both deep and broad. My hat is off to their staff. They are well-read, sharp, and motivated. During the Denver leg, attendees were provided the opportunity to explore the JBS plant in Greeley, as well as their Kuner feed yard of over 100,000+ capacity. It is easy to see why packing plants face the operational challenges they do, especially now, with beef supplies so tight. Margins are very, very small. One particular thing I enjoyed while on the Denver leg was the chance to spend time in a large Safeway grocery store visiting with consumers as they purchased their beef products. The level of general distrust of agricultural products appears to be growing. Hormone free, healthy, and safe were reverberated multiple times by consumers that appeared to have no background with agriculture. That tells me, as an in-
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dustry, we are not winning the battle on consumer education and confidence. Second stop: Chicago, Illinois. This stop was brief, but filled with ideal opportunities to gain additional industry insight for those with a sharp eye. The climate in the food service industry is evolving rapidly with the slow, steady emergence of the next generation of consumers. This was evident when listening to senior staff at McDonald’s headquarters speak candidly about their current and future infrastructure. Highly processed foods are falling out of favor with newer generations. Competitors are strategically exploiting this as a platform to seize market share.
Boots on the Hill - The YCC Delegation gathered on the US Capitol steps in Washington, D.C.
Last stop: Washington, D.C. This was definitely my favorite leg of the conference. I caught a little of the “Potomac Fever” spending the day on Capitol Hill lobbying my state’s Congressional leaders on ultra-important topics to the beef industry such as MCOOL, TPA, and WOTUS. I think senior NCBA staffer Colin Woodall summed up D.C. the best by stating that on the “Hill” there is always a lot of motion, but very little movement. After spending a full day visiting with my elected officials, I can see why. The most important insight derived A handful of the YCC attendees representing CO, OR, MO, TX, KS from the YCC experience, beyond the and AZ prepare to spend the day lobbying for cattlemen’s rights. intricate interworking of the packing plant, feed yard, and Capitol Hill, was in the beef industry did their part to support the understanding that there is a changing us and reaffirm that we are a part of the next climate in our industry. Globalization of the legion of torch bearers. From the JBS carcass food supply chain is happening, and doing so processing plant in Greeley, to McDonald’s at a rapid rate. While American cattlemen and headquarters, to rooftop dining at the John women (and industry) produce the best quality, Deere cooperate building overlooking the White highest satisfaction product in the world, we House, our industry wants us there and are have growing competition. Foreign markets will eager to give their support. demand a significant amount of beef creating Examine yourself. If you find a need to sharpen an opportunity to perpetuate this country’s food and hone your networking skills or have a thirst supply chain well beyond where we are today. to understand the micro and macro components All young agriculturalists need to sit up and take of our beef industry better, I highly recommend notice. We are no longer in an arms race with that you apply for next year’s YCC opportunity. countries like China. We are in a race to secure You will belong to an elite fraternity of indusglobal food markets and ensure the sustainabiltry leaders and carry insight like no other and ity of our nation’s agricultural infrastructure for friendships for life. generations to come. Agriculture is dependent on the next generation of producers and industry specialists. This was very apparent on the tour. Every stakeholder