Debate the How, Not the Why

By Todd Wilkinson, NCBA President

As I reflect on the recent Cattle Industry Convention held in New Orleans this February and think about the beginning of my year as NCBA president, one thought comes to mind: debate the how, never the why. My “why” is easy, and I think it’s safe to say it’s probably very similar to yours. Why am I a part of the cattle industry? Because it’s provided me and my family with a good life, and it means something to us. Why did I choose to get involved in leadership years ago starting with the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association and then on to NCBA? Because I believe that decisions are made by those that show up, and if you’re going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. Why have I stayed in volunteer leadership this long? I want to make sure this industry is here for my grandchildren and their grandchildren. I want them to have the opportunity to come back on this piece of ground my family calls home in South Dakota and run cattle. Like I said, the why is easy. How do we make sure the legacy of our operations exists 100 years from now?

That’s the area where I think healthy debate is useful, but also where the result should be consensus and a united front.

All of this was on full display last month during convention, and it makes me proud to serve as your NCBA president. Committee meetings were held and producers from across the country and all segments of the industry discussed important industry issues. We set association policy and received feedback on NCBA’s work as a contractor to the Beef Checkoff. We learned that the profitability picture for the coming year favors producers and we should get some much-needed relief in drought-stricken areas of the country. More than 7,000 cattlemen and women came together for a common goal — to better this industry and learn from each other.

When asked what concerns me most for our industry’s future, two things come to mind — regulatory overreach and the threat of a foreign animal disease outbreak on U.S. soil. Those two things as singular items are concerning but the thought of them becoming one keeps me up at night. This is why traceability has been a primary focus for me as an NCBA officer.

Fake Meat Flop

By Colin Woodall, NCBA CEO

In 2021, the NCBA Board of Directors approved a strategic plan to give the organization a more focused approach to engaging with cattle producers, policy makers and consumers. Traceability was identified as one of our strategic priorities, and the NCBA Traceability Working Group was formed. For the past year, I’ve chaired this group comprised of producers throughout the country from every sector of the industry. Our mission was to evaluate the current industry efforts to identify and trace animals through the cattle and beef system in the United States and develop a set of requirements for any eventual system that might be put in place in our industry. As you can imagine, there was healthy debate on the “how” of this topic but the why was never in question. NCBA is taking a leadership role on this issue because it is imperative to protect our industry in the event of a foreign animal disease outbreak.

Traceability is about risk protection, and I view it the same way as I view the insurance policy on my pick-up. It’s also about consumer trust. Consumer demand for our product and consumer trust in farmers and ranchers is strong, and we want to keep it that way by providing the transparency they are demanding.

The impact of a foreign animal disease in the United States, such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), would be catastrophic. Without a working, meaningful national traceability system in place, the impacts would be multiplied significantly. If FMD is identified in the U.S., it would result in an immediate stop of all livestock movement within the United States for up to 72 hours until movement control areas are established and epidemiological investigation and tracing activities are undertaken. Most major export markets would close to U.S. beef immediately. The overall economic impact has been estimated as high as $228 billion.

I firmly believe it is you, the members of our association, that are prepared to get out and protect your livelihoods. Cattlemen and women with an innovative mindset are the ones that are going to chart the future. I am looking forward to leading that charge with you.

2023 NCBA Leadership

President Todd Wilkinson

President-Elect Mark Eisele

Vice President Buck Wehrbein

Treasurer Brad Hastings

Federation Division Chair Clark Price

Federation Division

Vice-Chair Dan Gattis

Policy Division Chair Gene Copenhaver

Policy Division Vice-Chair Tim Schwab

Immediate Past President Don Schiefelbein

Chief Executive Officer Colin Woodall

Senior Editors John Robinson

Jill Johnson

Editor Sarah Drown

Contributing Writers Wendy White Hunter Ihrman Grace Vehige

This time three years ago, we had no idea what COVID-19 was about to unleash. In fact, we had just ended a successful convention in San Antonio where the hottest topic was fake meat. Fake meat was popping up everywhere. Impossible Foods was building partnerships with many restaurants and had launched the Impossible Whopper with Burger King during the summer of 2019. Beyond Meat had a very successful IPO in 2019 that saw its stock price take off over all the hype. For us, we definitely saw fake meat as an existential threat.

Then came COVID. I could spend the next several months talking about all the havoc that COVID wreaked on our industry, but there were a few silver linings. In a time of pure chaos and uncertainty, people wanted to find something that provided a little comfort and happiness. For many, comfort and happiness were found in food, and beef ended up being a food of choice. We received photographs from across the country where the beef case was cleaned out. American freezers and refrigerators were full of beef. That, in and of itself, was a challenge to make sure our Checkoff-funded work provided the recipes and cooking tips to ensure a great beef eating experience was had. Consumer visits to BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com soared, but how long would this last? Would a postpandemic return to some semblance of normalcy impact beef demand?

We worked to ensure that USDA has a role in regulating these products, and we will maintain our position that cell-cultured products must be regulated the same as beef is currently.

Last month, we released the Checkoff-funded “Today’s Beef Consumer” report that shows beef demand remaining strong, and since the fourth quarter of 2019, consumers have ranked beef as their top source of protein over chicken, pork and meat alternatives. Several of the pandemicinduced trends remain, such as eating more meals at home. About 76% of meals are cooked at home, and 38% of consumers say they will cook even more at home in the coming year. Another trend is ordering groceries or meals

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Contact NCBA: 9110 E. Nichols Ave., Suite 300, Centennial, CO 80112 (303-694-0305); Washington D.C.: 1275 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Suite 801, Washington, D.C. 20004 (202-347-0228). National Cattlemen’s Beef Association reserves the right to refuse advertising in any of its publications. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association does not accept political advertising in any of its publications. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association does not accept any advertising promoting third-party lawsuits that have online. Sixty-four percent of consumers are ordering groceries online and having them delivered or ready to be picked up at the store while they wait in their car. A whopping 80% of consumers have ordered meals online through apps such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. In this meal delivery category, 70% of the meals ordered are beef burgers. What is even more exciting is, when it comes to market share, fresh beef dominates with 99.5% while beef substitutes only have 0.5% of the market. The consumer is clearly telling us they love real beef. not been endorsed by the board of directors. ©2023 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. All rights reserved. The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced by any means, in whole or part, without the prior written consent of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Earlier, I mentioned the pandemic-era photos of the empty beef case. In several instances, the neighboring display of Beyond Meat was fully stocked. Even in a time of panic and uncertainty, our consumers still did not want to buy fake meat. I believe there are several reasons that fake meat has flopped, and leading that list is taste. I have tried Impossible and Beyond products, so you do not have to. Since we are all beef connoisseurs, you will not be surprised to hear that these fake meat products are terrible. Regardless of the taste, what has amazed me most is how these products promote themselves. We promote beef by selling the sizzle, the taste and the overall enjoyment of eating beef. Fake meat companies promote themselves by disparaging us with their accusations that cattle are killing the planet. They come to this conclusion by utilizing old and debunked data. I also find it humorous that they attack “factory farming” by building factories of their own. Their package of no taste and hollow accusations has not resonated with the consumer. After desperate attempts to reignite their brands, Beyond Meats has seen their stock price plummet and Impossible Foods recently announced more layoffs.

While fake meat companies have not had the success they projected, they are not going away. There are many companies in this space, and they will all work tirelessly to improve their product.

So, while we have won this round, the fight against fake meat will continue. It is also important to remember that cell-cultured products are still being developed using bovine cells to replicate “meat” in the laboratory. There has yet to be any commercially viable use of these products, but it is just a matter of time before we will see them appear at retail or foodservice. We worked to ensure that USDA has a role in regulating these products, and we will maintain our position that cell-cultured products must be regulated the same as beef is currently. We have more to do to protect ourselves, but we can rest well knowing that our consumers still love beef as nature intended it to be.