November 2020 - National Cattlemen

N A T I O N A L CATTLEMEN

To be the trusted leader and definitive voice of the U.S. cattle and beef industry.

NOV 2020 • Vol. 37, No. 2 • NCBA.org

Cattle Industry Convention Postponed Until August 2021

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN’S BEEF ASSOCIATION 9110 E. NICHOLS AVENUE, SUITE 300 CENTENNIAL, CO 80112

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID Denver, CO Permit No. 1673

The Cattle Industry Annual Convention and NCBA Trade Show is one of the industry’s biggest events each year, bringing together cattlemen and cattlewomen from across the nation to do the work of our industry. Unfortunately, the current pandemic presents challenges that make bringing people together difficult. With the health and safety of our attendees, exhibitors, sponsors, and partners in mind, NCBA has made the difficult decision to postpone the in-person event to August 2021. However, NCBA will hold some of its traditional business meetings in the January or February timeframe, in accordance with the association’s bylaws.

“Decisions of this magnitude, which impact multiple organizations, stakeholders and companies, are never easy. However, the limits on the number of people who can gather at

Legislation to Reduce Predation Passes Congress

an event in Nashville and the travel restrictions facing many trade show exhibitors, makes it impossible for us to put on the world-class event our attendees expect this winter,” said NCBA CEO Colin Woodall.

Originally scheduled for February 3-5, 2021, the convention and trade show will now take place August 1012, 2021. While the event may have a new date, both the convention and trade show will continue to take place at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Despite the move of the main event to August, we will still hold business meetings in January or February to ensure we continue to meet the needs of our members and the industry,” said Woodall.

“When we do gather the nation’s cattle producers together again in August, we’ll have the opportunity to include new events and activities in Music City, including many that just aren’t available during the winter months, so although we’re disappointed in the date change, we’re excited to see Nashville during the summer, as we take advantage of all the fun and excitement the city has to offer.

The 2021 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade show will mark the 123rd anniversary of this legendary event, and one that will offer a multitude of fun and exciting events that are appropriate for all ages. Cattlemen’s College and the world-class NCBA Trade Show will also offer educational opportunities that cattlemen and cattlewomen can put to work on their farms and ranches.

For up-to-date convention information and more information about the 2021 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, visit www.convention.ncba.org.

In October, the America’s Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Act took a meaningful step in the long journey to the White House to be signed into law by passing both chambers of Congress. Tucked between a number of provisions that reauthorize large, sweeping conservation programs are a few key provisions that provide direct benefit to livestock producers. The bill tackles the challenge of depredation head-on by addressing depredation payments and permits, as well as other natural resource issues.

Depredation payments are often a financial burden borne by states, despite the federal government protecting the species that caused the livestock damage. This bill creates a grant program for states and other entities to provide payments to livestock producers who have lost animals due to depredation by federally protected species.

The depredation grants created by the ACE Act will fund payments to producers who experience losses caused by animals protected by the Endangered Species Act, like wolves and bears, as well as animals protected by other federal laws, like the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Depredation can happen at any time, but a significant portion of depredation typically occurs when livestock are most vulnerable: during calving and lambing season. While some producers may think large predators present the biggest threat, others like black vultures and ravens are particularly dangerous to livestock operations. Both birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the protections have allowed their numbers to grow rapidly with few tools to prevent overpopulation and the challenges that accompany large flocks of predatory birds. NCBA and the Public Lands

Council (PLC) both were driving forces on Capitol Hill to get this legislation over the finish line because above all, producers want increased certainty and less government intervention in their operations.

In addition to creating the grant program for depredation payments, for federally protected species in general, the ACE Act also recognized the need to have additional tools to manage the specific challenges presented by black vultures and ravens. While federal law does allow for limited numbers of permits to address problem birds, there are too few permits and the process is too slow. NCBA and PLC had been telling Congress and federal agencies this for years. The ACE Act delivers much-needed improvements to the permitting process. The bill allows historic depredation to be considered when a producer applies for a depredation permit, meaning that producers should see a significant reduction in time it takes to have the permit approved. Having tools approved earlier means producers can address depredation as it happens, ultimately resulting in fewer affected calves.

This bill also recognizes an issue that is likely to become increasingly evident to livestock producers nationwide. Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a disease that affects cervids like deer, moose, elk, and caribou.

The ACE Act recognizes that CWD poses significant scientific and policy challenges, so the legislation created a task force to develop a comprehensive strategy for prevention, containment, and remediation with all the right stakeholders at the table. As livestock producers know, it is much easier to bring a solution to Congress than for Congress to mandate a particular course of action.

MARKET SNAPSHOT WEEK ENDING 10/23/2020 (prices vs. year ago) $107.61

CHOICE BOXED BEEF $211.74

OMAHA CASH CORN $3.83

3.5%

2%

3%

2%

$149.18

$109.73

$217.93

$3.92

SOUTH CENTRAL 500-600 LB. STEERS $144.07

LIVE FED STEERS

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IN THIS ISSUE Leadership Comments

3

Governance 8 Market Matters

10

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NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

Fifty-Years of Shaping Public Policy

By Colin Woodall, NCBA CEO The great 1898 gathering of cattle producers in Denver that established our association declared that one of their objectives would be “to protect cattlemen from the government in Washington.” That objective hasn’t changed much throughout our history, but it wasn’t until the American National Cattlemen’s Association convention in 1970 that the decision was made to open an office in our nation’s capital. C.W. “Bill” McMillan, ANCA’s Executive Vice President at the time, moved from Denver to Washington and rented office space in the National Press Club building two blocks from the White House.

In June of 1970, Bill established the full-time cattlemen’s presence that continues today.

Bill is 94 years old and still lives in the D.C. metro area. He tells great stories of being in those smoky back rooms in the U.S. Capitol helping Senators and Representatives understand the impact of their decisions on America’s cattle producers. He shared with me that he never wore a coat or carried a briefcase when he went to the Hill because it made him look like he belonged and allowed him to get into many places most others couldn’t. It even got the U.S. Capitol Police to stop traffic for him so he could cross the street!

After Bill left the National Cattlemen’s

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF NCBA 2020 NCBA Leadership: President President-elect Vice President Treasurer Federation Division Chair Federation Division Vice-Chair Policy Division Chair Policy Division Vice-Chair Immediate Past President Chief Executive Officer

Marty Smith Jerry Bohn Don Schiefelbein Joe Guild Buck Wehrbein Clay Burtrum Todd Wilkinson Mark Eisele Jennifer Houston Colin Woodall

Senior Editor John Robinson Associate Editor Brittany Schaneman

Contributing Writers Steven Johnson

Creative Director Don Waite Graphic Designer Dancinee Jennings Copy Editor Dianne Harvanek

Samantha Coulson For ad sales, Shannon Wilson 303-850-3345, Nicole Bechtel 303-850-3465, or Jill DeLucero 303-850-3321.

Association to join the Reagan Administration, Burton Eller took the reins of the Washington office. Tom Cook followed Burton, and after the 1996 merger creating NCBA, Chandler Keys got the call to lead our public policy efforts. Jay Truitt took over in 2005 followed by Burton’s second stint at the helm. I had the privilege of leading the D.C. office for a decade, and now Ethan Lane is demonstrating his leadership abilities.

Each head of the Washington office brought their own unique personality, approach, and methods, but all of them continued to enhance the reputation of our association.

While the smoky back rooms don’t exist like they used to, NCBA is still the trusted voice of our industry among policy makers and regulators. We use a lot of the same strategies Bill used. In fact, the “old-fashioned” way of lobbying remains the tried-and-true method. Looking people in the eye, being in the right place, shaking hands, and letting lawmakers know you are watching, has been critical to NCBA’s track-record of success. You can’t be an effective voice unless you are on the Hill or at the Federal agencies every day. That is what we do.

We are known as the lobbyists who shoot straight, follow through, and support our friends and allies. We’re also known as fierce opponents who pull out all the stops to protect our members. We don’t hesitate to call out Members of Congress who take action against our industry, and many have learned that lesson the hard way.

There is no such thing as a 40-hour work week in Washington, D.C. Early mornings, late nights, weekends, and holidays are the norm. If Congress is still debating an issue at 1:00 a.m., NCBA’s D.C. staff are in the office and on the Hill. When a Farm Bill Conference Committee is taking place, we have staff in the room and outside the doors to answer questions. I remember the 2008 Farm Bill Conference Committee when I got up, went to the front of the room and just stood there during a vote on one of our priority issues so each Senator and Congressman could see me as they voted.

We won that vote. Working Christmas 2003 on BSE, New Year’s Eve and Day 2012 to help avert the fiscal cliff and take care of our tax relief priorities, or making the decision to not close our office during the COVID-19 crisis, makes us a dependable resource to policy makers. As you read this, NCBA is still one of the few ag trade association offices that is even open in D.C. We were the ONLY one that never closed.

Richard Nixon was President when our office opened, and NCBA has been in front of every U.S. President since. From Farm Bills, trade agreements, appropriations bills, tax bills, and more, NCBA will continue to be the trusted leader and definitive voice of cattle producers in Washington. We are the role model for how an effective public policy office works. NCBA’s Center for Public Policy is effectively positioned to lead for the next 50 years, and much like the objective in 1898, we will work to keep Washington out of your business.

Free Webinar Series On Cattle Grading

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 not been endorsed by the board of directors. ©2020 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.

KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST NEWS www.NCBA.org Like Us. Follow Us. Watch Us. Hear Us

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is hosting a no-cost webinar series on cattle grading, featuring speakers from all three USDA Cattle and Carcass Training Centers (CCTCs) and the CME Group. Part I starts at 7:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 17, 2020 and is titled: A look at Cattle Futures, the CME Rulebook, and CME Live Cattle and Carcass Specifications. and starts at 7:00pm EST on Tuesday, November 17, 2020. These webinars will last roughly two hours each.

Register at https://www. ams.usda.gov/event/fall2020-webinar-series-cattleand-carcass-grading-andcme-delivery-process

Dear Fellow Cattle Producers

By Marty Smith, NCBA President Price discovery has long been a top priority for the cattle industry and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). The availability of current and accurate market information has a substantial impact on our ability to make informed marketing decisions as cattle producers. It is no secret that in recent years adequate price information has been in decline in the fed cattle marketplace. This is largely due to the decrease in negotiated trade across the cattle feeding regions. While Alternative Marketing Arrangements (AMAs), such as formulas, grids, and forward contracts, have been very beneficial to cattle producers, studies have shown that sufficient levels of negotiated trade must occur in each cattle feeding region to achieve robust price discovery.

In addition to the issue of price discovery, two major “black swan” events have rocked the cattle markets in a short period of time.

The fire at Tyson Foods, Inc. Finney County plant in Holcomb, KS, applied historic downward pressure on cattle prices and accentuated an already volatile market. These events led NCBA leadership to appoint a Live Cattle Marketing Working Group of NCBA members to evaluate the effects of the Tyson fire and make policy recommendations based upon their discoveries. At the same time, NCBA also requested that the Packers and Stockyards Division at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) conduct an investigation to ensure that all market participants acted fairly and equitably in the aftermath of the fire.

We certainly could not have known then that the volatility we witnessed in the aftermath of the fire would pale in comparison to the market impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, I directed the Working Group to expand their scope to include the unprecedented marketing environment forced upon us by the coronavirus, and NCBA made the same request to USDA’s Packers and Stockyards Division.

At the same time, we made a direct request to President Trump to look into potential anti-competitive behavior in the marketplace. Within hours of making this request, he directed the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division to open such an investigation, which remains ongoing.

The Working Group reported its findings to the Live Cattle Marketing Committee at the 2020 NCBA Summer Business Meeting, which included recommendations for policy on price discovery. During that meeting, which lasted over six hours, delegates from every one of NCBA’s state and breed affiliates debated the path NCBA should take in addressing price discovery moving forward. Impassioned arguments were made on all sides of the issue, but following the discussion, the industry came together to unanimously adopt a Fed Cattle Price Discovery policy. This policy directed NCBA to appoint a subgroup to construct a voluntary framework, which includes triggers based on regional levels of negotiated trade, to increase frequent, transparent, and measured negotiated trade to regionally sufficient levels to achieve robust price discovery determined

by NCBA funded and directed research in all major cattle feeding regions and established a deadline of October 1, 2020, to complete this work. In the event that the voluntary framework does not result in robust price discovery, NCBA is directed to pursue a legislative or regulatory solution determined by the

membership to achieve robust price discovery in all cattle regions.

Shortly after Summer Business Meeting, I appointed seven producer leaders with diverse viewpoints to the Regional Triggers Subgroup. I am pleased to report that, after months of bi-weekly meetings, the Subgroup has delivered its framework to the Live Cattle Marketing Working Group and the NCBA officer team. I am proud of the work these individuals have put into this document and commend them for working together to find common ground among disparate views.

Called “A Voluntary Framework to Achieve Price Discovery in the Fed Cattle Market,” this approach lays out a plan to increase negotiated trade and incentivize each of the major packers’ participation in such negotiated trade. The framework explains in detail what we are calling the “75% Plan,” which is designed to provide negotiated trade and packer participation benchmarks for the industry to strive toward. In essence, the Subgroup will evaluate the weekly negotiated trade information for each of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s cattle feeding reporting regions on a quarterly basis in arrears. Eventually, the Subgroup will include in its evaluation an analysis of packer participation data, but this information is not yet published under Livestock Mandatory Reporting. To avoid tripping triggers, in any given quarter, each region will have to: • Achieve no less than 75% of the weekly negotiated trade volume that current academic literature indicates is necessary for “robust” price discovery in that specific region, • Achieve this negotiated trade threshold no less than 75% of the reporting weeks in a quarter, • Achieve no less than 75% of the weekly packer participation requirements assigned to each specific region (to be determined in short order), • And achieve this packer participation threshold no less than 75% of the reporting weeks in a quarter.

If triggers are tripped in any two out of four rolling quarters, the Subgroup will recommend that NCBA pursue a legislative or regulatory solution to compel robust price discovery. The Subgroup will take into account black swans on a case-by-case basis, which are outlined in the force majeure section of the document, and may allow for flexibility within the 75% Plan if events disrupt the normal flow of cattle in a quarter. Periodic adjustments may need to be made to the framework if academic literature is updated, technological advances are made, or other conditions of supply and demand have changed.

The Subgroup will make these adjustments on an as-needed basis.

While certainly not a silver-bullet solution, I truly believe that this approach provides the industry a goal to strive towards and, perhaps more importantly, a path forward if progress is not demonstrated toward that goal. If you have additional questions or concerns about the framework, your state affiliate executive has additional resources.

You can also always reach out to our NCBA staff in Washington, D.C., by calling 202-347-0228.

I am confident that the cattle industry will meet this challenge as it always does - head-on and at full steam. Together, we can ensure price transparency and robust price discovery in our markets.

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NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

Legislation Passes er

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NCBA Executive Director of Natural Resources and PLC Executive Director, Kaitlynn Glover released a statement shortly after House passage, summing up this win for producers: "Livestock producers and States face significant burdens when the federal government implements protections for species without any support for the economic and natural resource impacts their decisions can have. We applaud the establishment of a specific depredation permitting structure for producers who have experienced losses due to common raven and black vulture depredation. Most of these losses occur during calving and lambing season, with producers experiencing tens of thousands of dollars in losses in any given year. It is imperative that producers have common-sense tools to protect their livestock, their financial security, and local wildlife populations."

Many people in D.C. do not know the difference between a black vulture or a turkey vulture. Fewer know that black vultures cause hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses to livestock operations each year. NCBA’s D.C. Public Policy Center was established to educate as well as lobby, and staff take on that dual role with pride. The ACE Act is the clear product of that educational component, as staff meet with members of Congress and federal agencies, week in and week out, relaying the problems producers face on the ground. It is not easy to pass a bill, so it is important to celebrate the victories as they come. Thanks to the work of NCBA, PLC, and supportive members of Congress, producers will soon feel relief.

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Name

2020 2020 TOP TOP HANDS HANDS

CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY These are companies that have teamed with NCBA as corporate members, demonstrating their commitment to the beef industry. Their involvement strengthens our future. NCBA members are urged to support these partners in turn by purchasing their products and services. Those who would like to become corporate members with NCBA (securing premium booth placement at the annual convention and trade show as well as other membership benefits), please call the Corporate Relations team at 303-694-0305.

# Recruited

Don Schiefelbein

Affiliate Organization Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association

Melody Benjamin

Nebraska Cattlemen

44

Mark Lacey

California Cattlemen’s Association

31

Ryan Higbie

20

Steve Wooten

Kansas Livestock Association Colorado Cattlmen’s Association

Michael Weeks

Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association

16

Tucker Stewart Matt Teagarden Aaron Popelka Dean Klahr Clayton Huseman Joe Mooney Angie Ford Stephen Russell

16 15 15 15 14 12 10 10

Elizabeth Harsh

Kansas Livestock Association Kansas Livestock Association Kansas Livestock Association Kansas Livestock Association Kansas Livestock Association Kansas Livestock Association Minnesota State Cattlemen’s Association Kansas Livestock Association Ohio Cattlemen’s Association

Jimmy Holliman

Alabama Cattlemen’s Association

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Masey Ferguson www.agcocorp.com/brands/massey-ferguson.

Zac Pogue Becca McMillan Kent Trentman

Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association

6 6 6

Micro Technologies www.microtechnologies.com

REGION lll WINNER

REGION Vll WINNER REGION Vl WINNER

REGION V WINNER

REGION lV WINNER

REGION l WINNER

REGION ll WINNER

44

18

7

View the entire list online by visting ncba.org/recruitersprogramresults.aspx or by scanning the QR code.

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ALLIED INDUSTRY PARTNERS

Friends of NCBA Eprizero® Pour-On provides excellent broad-spectrum treatment and control against internal and external parasites.

Norbrook offers all new NCBA members Eprizero® Pour-On. “We are excited to announce Norbrook is expanding their partnership to provide members of the Top Hand

Club with a very special reward,” said John Robinson, Sr. Vice President of Communications and Membership.

“All members who earn Top Hand status in the 2021 Top Hand year will get a five-liter bottle of Eprizero® PourOn. Five liters is enough to treat 50 cows.”

To become a member of the Top Hand Club and receive five liters of Eprizero®, current NCBA members must recruit three new members to NCBA between October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021. Top Hands earning Eprizero® Pour-On will be rewarded in Winter 2021.

44 Farms ADM Animal Nutrition, Inc. AgriPrime Insurance Agency Agri-Pro Enterprises of Iowa, Inc. Alltech, Inc. American Hereford Association American National Insurance American Wagyu Association Anipro Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production Arrowquip Bank of America Merrill Lynch Barenbrug USA Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Beef Magazine Behlen Manufacturing Bimeda BioZyme Cargill Animal Nutrition Case IH Certified Hereford Beef CME Group DATAMARS Livestock Dell Technologies Diamond V ENDOVAC Animal Health Furst-McNess Company Gallagher Gravely, an Ariens Company Greeley Hat Works Growsafe Systems LTD Hayden Outdoors Real Estate Hyundai Construction Equipment International Stock Food Kent Nutrition Group

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PRODUCT COUNCIL American Foods Group Cargill Meat Solutions Certified Angus Beef Culver’s Darden Restaurants empirical Fareway Stores, Inc. Five Guys

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NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

I Cry for the Mountains and the Legacy Lost

By Dave Daley, California Rancher It is almost midnight. We have been pushing hard for 18-20 hours every day since the Bear Fire tore through our mountain cattle range on September 8, and there is so much swirling in my head I can’t sleep anyway. The fire destroyed our cattle range, our cattle, and even worse, our family legacy. Someone asked my daughter if I had lost our family home. She told them “No, that would be replaceable. This is not!” I would gladly sleep in my truck for the rest of my life to have our mountains back.

I am enveloped by overwhelming sadness and grief, and then anger. I’m angry at everyone and no one— grieving for things lost that will never be the same.

I wake myself weeping almost soundlessly, and it is hard to stop.

I cry for the forest, the trees, and streams, and the horrible deaths suffered by the wildlife and our cattle. The suffering was unimaginable. When you find groups of cows and their baby calves tumbled in a ravine trying to escape, burned almost beyond recognition, you try not to wretch. You only pray death was swift. A fawn and small calf side by side as if hoping to protect one another. Worse, in searing memory, cows with their hooves, udder and even legs burned off who had to be euthanized. A doe laying in the ashes with three fawns, not all hers I bet. And you are glad they can stand and move, even with a limp, because you really cannot imagine any more death today. Euthanasia is not pleasant, but sometimes it’s the only option. But you don’t want more suffering.

How many horrible choices have faced us in the past three days?

We have taken cattle to the Plumas National Forest since before it was designated such. It is a steep and vast land of predominantly mixed conifers and a few stringer meadows on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains straddling Butte and Plumas Counties. My Great-Great Grandfather started moving cattle to the high country sometime after he arrived in 1852 to the Oroville area looking for gold. The earliest family diary of driving cattle to our range in the mountains dates back to 1882. Poor Irish immigrants trying to scratch a living from the land.

The range is between the South Fork and Middle Fork of the Feather River, the drainage that fills Lake Oroville. It is 80-inch rainfall country from October to May with deep snow at the high end, and then it goes completely dry. Three major streams/rivers and hundreds of creeks and springs punctuate the land. My friends from the arid west can’t understand why it is hard to gather – “don’t you just go to the water?” Not that simple in this environment. It is difficult country; in some ways more suited to sheep because of the browse, but politics and predators killed the sheep industry in the country years ago. But the cows love the range and do well—cool days and nights, no flies, higher elevations avoiding the hot summers in the valleys. A great place to summer cattle. They actually like to go as much as we do!

For those of you who have never seen this land, this isn’t riding a horse into a meadow or open ridge where you can see cattle. This is literally “hunting” through a vast forest of deep canyons, rivers and creeks, and the high ridges in between. It is not an easy place to gather or even find cattle in the best conditions.

There are six generations who have loved that land, and my new granddaughter, Juni, is the seventh. And I find myself overcome with emotion as I think of the things she will never see, but only hear in stories told to her by Grandad. We all love the mountains. They are part of us, and we are part of them. All destroyed. In one day.

I am angry.

As a child in the early 60s, days “going to the mountains” were the greatest ever for my family. It was our playground and our quiet spot. Sure, we worked, but we learned so much about the world, the trees, birds, and flowers. In my family, sometimes that may have included learning the scientific name or at least the family of the plant. There were lessons on botany, forestry, geology, archaeology. We didn’t even know we were learning, but we imbibed it until it became a part of our souls.

And then my kids. For them, the mountains were the best! Rolling into a little seat behind Grandma and Grandpa to “go hunt for cows” as we gathered in the fall. Hot chocolate from Grandma as soon as we got there. On cold, dusty or wet days, it was sometimes discouraging, but they loved it and still do. It was their sanctuary where “no matter what happens, this will always be here.” And now it is gone. It is a death, and we are still in shock and not sure how to move forward.

What will my granddaughter know of the truth and grounding that comes from nature? Will we gather cows in the mountains while I sing cowboy tunes off key, and she sips hot chocolate? I am overcome.

When the news broke of the fire in our cattle range, my son Kyle, who ranches with me, and I were sure it could not be as bad as it sounded. We had close to 400 cows, most of them calving or close to calving in our mountain range, ready to gather and bring home in early October. They were the heart of the herd. Old cows, problems, bought cows and first calf heifers stayed in the valley. Only the good cows who knew the land were there. That first day, we had no access and were relying on spotty reporting posted to local news or social media. My daughter Kate, a veterinarian, who practices about four hours away, “I’m on the way.” My youngest son, Rob (named for his Grandad) a soldier

stationed in Louisiana, “I have a lot of leave and I’m on a plane tomorrow.” All three have been unbelievable and we have all needed each other to navigate this heartbreak.

At first, we couldn’t get into the range and were frantic as it was completely locked down because of safety. We knew cattle were dying as we waited. I received a call from a Pennsylvania number and answered before thinking. A wonderfully nice man from the Forest Service was calling to tell me about the fire since I had a cattle allotment in the Bear Fire area. I had to help him find it on the map! Frustrating.

And he knew less than me. Later I got a call from San Bernardino (500 miles south), another fire resource officer from the Forest Service. I asked about access. “Well,” he said, “maybe next week and only if we provide an escort.

We have to make it safe first.” He, too, had no idea where the allotment was or the challenge that I faced. All the cattle would be dead if I waited a week. I politely told him I would figure out an alternative – through private timber land and common sense!

I called our County Sheriff who has been a great friend of the cattle community. I had to wait one day, but he provided two sergeants to navigate the roadblocks until I was in the range. Was it dangerous? Yes. Were animals dying? Absolutely. Local solutions are always better. Thanks to Sheriff Honea, of Camp Fire and Lake Oroville Dam breech fame, and Sergeants Tavelli and Caulkins who got us access. All incredible people who get it. Local.

On our first day, Kyle and I make a fast trip up to reconnoiter. We are unprepared for the total destruction of everything we have always known.

Nothing left and active flames on both sides burning trees and stumps. Shocking. Surreal. We make it to our Fall River corral somewhat hopeful that there would be green and water to mitigate the disaster. Everything is completely gone and we see dead cows as we start down the hill. Everywhere. This is our first step in what will be an impossible week. We go home hoping against hope that we have seen the worst. Little did we realize that it was just the beginning and it could get worse.

It is 3:30 in the morning now and time to start this nightmare again. To find the courage to throw some things in the truck, run with the kids to check and feed the survivors, and hit repeat. I dread it but know we must. And I work to be optimistic because that is who I am. Not easy.

As we make a plan and split up to run 4-wheelers up and down logging roads hunting life and death, I think how lucky I am. So many people have offered to help. I am grateful but it is difficult to explain how challenging it is to gather in almost 90,000 acres of incredibly difficult terrain (and that’s on a flat map!). Each canyon and ridge is dotted with logging spur roads that could be choked with down and burning trees. Much of it is unrecognizable, even to me. Only those with deep, local knowledge of these mountains can help. Fortunately, my family, the Carter boys (Devin and Doyle), Brian Jones— all friends of my kids—and now friends of mine, plus my best friend Sean Earley all stepped up. They know the mountains well and have helped us for years. They just showed up and said, “We’re here. We’re going. What can we do?” So, we strap chainsaws and some alfalfa on 4-wheelers and set out hoping against hope to find something alive.

We split up and my crew takes the Lava Top and Ross Creek drainage, while the other half goes towards Twin Bridges and Fall River. It is eerie, and as Rob said, “There is no sound in the Forest, just death.” We are learning. When we traditionally gathered cows, they were always towards the ridge top in the morning and down by water in the afternoon. Now, we find nothing high up, except the occasional dead cow that wasn’t fast enough. We just hunt for the deep holes where there was a chance for water and life.

You learn as you ride through the apocalyptic murk.

Rob’s head goes up and I catch the scent at the same time. The scent of death and charred flesh mingled with the acrid smoke that burns your eyes. You begin looking in the draws hoping it is not cattle. It always is. Eight cows and three baby calves in a pile at the bottom of a ravine, rushing in terror to escape. A sight you won’t soon forget.

But today, when we meet up, Kyle and Kate had great news. They found sixteen head at our Twin Bridges corral! The largest group to date. I had baited it with alfalfa last night and there were cattle standing in the little corral of temporary panels. Remarkable. Two of them are heifers that I gave Kyle and Jordan (my daughter in-law and Juni’s mom) for their wedding. Kyle branded them with my Dad’s original brand just to keep them straight. Someone in our crew said Dad gathered them for us so we wouldn’t miss them. Maybe he did. My Dad was a cow whisperer who has been gone over four years after roaming the mountains for almost 90. Maybe he is still helping lead us and the cattle home. I turn away as I feel emotion begin to rise. Again. For some reason, I am more emotional when I find the live cattle than those that died. I don’t know why? Maybe thinking what they went through and I wasn’t there to help? And, more

frightening, death has become more expected than life.

I completely dread taking my Mom to see this tragedy. She will be 90 in less than a month and still loves the mountains and gathering cows. She is tough but this could break anyone. She worked these mountains with my Dad from 1948 when she was 18, he was 21, and they had just married. She told me in later years that she had always loved the outdoors but really was “sort of afraid of cows” since she had not ever been around them. She never told Dad though and learned to be one of the best trackers and gatherers the mountains have ever seen, knowing every plant, tree and road.

You can learn more from old people. They may not use PowerPoint or Zoom. They may not be elegant in politics, but they have life experience. We are quickly losing that vital perspective from the land before we have allowed them to teach us. Far more valuable than a visiting scholar or great consultant. Local knowledge and observation. I wish we would listen.

I am again angry at everyone and no one. Why did this happen? I am absolutely tired of politicians and politics, from both the left and the right. Shut up. You use tragedies to fuel agendas and raise money to feed egos.

I am sick of it. And it plays out on social media and cable news with distorted and half-truths. ON BOTH SIDES. Washington, DC is 3000 miles away and is filled with lobbyists, consultants and regulators who wouldn’t know a sugar pine from a fir. Sacramento is 100 miles south and feels even more distant than DC. And to the regulators who write the Code of Federal Regulations, the policies and procedures and then debate the placement of a comma, you mean well, I know. And I am sure you are good people. But you are useless when it comes to doing things to help the land. And the “nonprofits” (yea, right), lawyers and academics, this is all too often a game for you to successfully navigate your own institution. “How do I get a grant to study something that if I looked closely, generations before already knew?”

Nothing happens on the ground to make change. I do understand that most folks truly care and start with the best intentions.

For those of you on the right who want to blame the left and California, these are National Forest lands that are “managed” by the feds. They have failed miserably over the past 50 years. Smokey the Bear was the cruelest joke ever played on the western landscape, a decades long campaign to prevent forest fires has resulted in megafires of a scope we’ve never seen.

Thanks, Smokey.

The US Forest Service is constantly threatened with litigation from extremists who don’t want anyone to “use” the forest. It is to be “preserved.” Great job in helping to get us where we are. And I feel bad for Forest Service personnel. Most of them are great people who work there because they love the land like I do. But they are chained to desks to write reports and follow edicts handed down from those who don’t know.

One size fits all regulations are not a solution in diverse ecosystems. And, the Forest Service budget is consumed by fire suppression and litigation. What funds are left to actually work on the land?

And, for those of you on the left who want to blame it all on climate change, the regulations at the state and federal level have crippled—no, stopped—any progress towards changing the unmitigated disasters facing our landscapes. I wonder how many of you have walked the canyons or ridges or seen the wildlife and beauty at a secret stream?

Politicians stage drive by photo-ops to raise money at the fringe. None of us really like you. We just are forced to deal with you. Of course, there are many exceptions and you know who you are. I hate to visit an office to discuss issues when the legislator is far more interested in talking than listening. It seems that nobody can be a centrist and make sense and win. There is plenty of blame to go around on both sides of the aisle.

And just maybe it’s both—horrible forest management and climate change. Don’t you think months of massive smoke covering the West may impact the climate, especially added to our other pollutants? Does it matter which came first? Why not invest in solutions rather than using soundbites to gin up the base? And locally, we know the solutions. And

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN 7

www.NCBA.org those investments should be locally conceived and locally driven.

I grew up hearing the stories from my Dad and Grandad of the “last man out” lighting the forest floor to burn the low undergrowth. Their generations knew to reduce the ladder fuels that spread the fire to the canopy, to open it up for the wildlife. It was a pact between our friends the Native Americans who had managed it this way for 13,000 years, the loggers, miners and ranchers. They knew ecology and botany and wildlife. They worked together because they loved and knew the land.

It was the early 1960s and snow was already on the ground in December on our foothill ranch. I would have been about four and holding my Grandfather’s hand as he lit some piles of brush on fire to open the landscape.

It was the practice he had learned from generations before. And the CDF (now Cal Fire) crew showed up, put out the fire, and lectured him for burning. My Grandad was the kindest, gentlest and funniest man I have ever known. And he was mad. It was the beginning of the end for our forest home. And it has proceeded at an unprecedented rate.

I am angry. Try a control burn in the winter now and watch someone cite you because it is not an approved “burn day,” you had the wrong permit and approval and you might impact air quality. It is beyond moronic.

How is the choking air quality that has blanketed the west this past month, when people can’t go outside without a mask, a better alternative? Are you kidding me? Bureaucrats and well-intentioned regulators who don’t know they don’t know have tied our hands, and the blame is shared at the both the state and federal levels.

Lest you think I am a complete rube; I earned my PhD in Animal Science 35 years ago at Colorado State.

I loved teaching and ranching – so I did both. But I am a cattleman at heart. And, I have been involved in industry activities for many years, serving as Past President of the California Cattlemen’s Association, current Chair of the California Cattle Council, Chair of the Forest Service committee for the Public Lands Council and Chair of Federal Lands for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. I have walked the halls of Congress, met with legislators in both Sacramento and DC and I am willing to advocate for the cattle community to anyone who will listen. I have dined with legislators in DC, Chicago and Sacramento at wonderful restaurants noted for fine dining. The company, food and conversation were enjoyable. And I have had bologna sandwiches and beer in the mountains with ranchers and loggers. Somehow, the air seemed cleaner and the food was better with the latter.

Something about straight forward honesty and hard work is appealing.

I invite any legislator or regulator, state or federal, to come with me to this devastation. Leave your photographer behind, put on boots and let’s go. I will buy the bologna. We have created tragedy after tragedy across the West, and we need solutions.

Look at the mega-fires California has experienced in recent years. If you study them closely, almost all of them start on State or Federally owned land. Fifty percent of California is owned by the feds or state, land that has unmanaged fuel loads because of the restrictions to do anything on the land. Right now, the only buffer to these disasters are private, well managed, grazed landscapes. They may still burn, but the fires are not as catastrophic and can be controlled. Butte County alone has recently had the Camp Fire which destroyed the town of Paradise, population of 20,000 where almost a hundred people died. And now the Bear Fire where Berry Creek, a small community of about 1,000 residents had at least 14 deaths, an even higher percentage.

Our segmented view of the landscape has led us to tragedy after tragedy. As a rancher on the forest, I am required, in the name of ecosystem health, to monitor meadow utilization, browse of willows and streambank alteration. Fine. I comply. If I hit 41% meadow utilization I can get a letter of non-compliance since 40% is considered the maximum. The Bear Fire did not leave 60% of the meadow! I wonder if I will get a letter of noncompliance? Again, the forest for the trees.

It is not the Forest Service range conservationist’s fault that I have to monitor these three factors. It is the guidelines they were handed. But they are arbitrary and ineffective measures to “protect” the environment, and of no use against decades of unmitigated fuel growth.

Can anybody look up and see the meadows and water disappearing? Is the health of the meadow crippled by unchecked understory growth that sucks the water out and allows invasion of conifers? It is easier to blame the cow. Look up. Watch nature. She will talk to you....

I think it is as simple as not seeing the forest for the trees. And in my academic life, it was the norm. I worked with wonderful faculty, staff and students who were committed to research and teaching. However, we rarely looked at the big picture because we were encouraged to publish in our disciplines without seeking out how our work connected with others or how our small piece was part of a larger solution. That “siloed” thinking plagues most bureaucracies and agencies. We only know what we know. And, in most disciplines in the academy, most faculty are now several generations removed from a direct connection with the land.

Listen to the generations before. Mega-fires are a recent product of lack of use of fire, less grazing and over-regulation. And if you look at recent history, almost every mega-fire that I can recall has started on state and

federal lands. Mismanagement. And those catastrophic fires contribute to climate change. Yet the guidelines followed by the feds on National Forest and the State on State Parks lands are “one size fits all.” It is beyond dumb. And no one’s fault. And everyone’s fault. Listen to the Forest. Listen to the locals.

The fire in Santa Rosa in 2018 was estimated to produce more CO2 and pollutants in one week than all of the cars in California in one year. We have already had six of the largest twenty fires in California history in 2020. The Bear Fire has eclipsed 250,000 acres and is still burning. To me this is very personal, but this is a much bigger problem than my family having our cattle killed.

I get frustrated with experts and consultants who drive by and “know just what to do.” For 35 years I have attended conferences, given presentations and listened. What I have learned is solutions are local and specific. What happens in one watershed in Plumas or Butte County may be entirely different in the Lassen National Forest just next door. But experts of all kinds are glad to tell you how to do it. “Let’s prescribe graze, use virtual fences, change your timing, change your genetics.” Prescribe graze the forest and canyons? Yea. Right. They don’t know what they don’t know but they will take the honorarium anyway and have a great dinner on your dime. Another game where the people who live here and the land rarely benefit.

I have traveled and given presentations nationally and internationally for decades as the odd “academic cowman.” I learned quickly that it is insulting to make suggestions if you don’t know the land, the people and the culture. I love these canned “you should do this and this” PowerPoint talks. It is frustrating. My approach has always been “this is what I do and why—it may not fit here so don’t force it.” I loved those trips not because of what I taught but of what I learned from the locals.

Cattle, like the wildlife, follow the season in this wildland we love. They start at low elevation in June and work east and higher until early October. As leaves begin to change, they start west and down. How and why would you fence this land? Again, an expert from afar who wrote a text or did it in a different ecosystem thought it was a great idea. It is exhausting.

Yesterday was day four of the recovery effort. I now understand what first responders mean when they say, “rescue to recovery.” I hold out little hope for live cattle.

We have to get to Hartman Bar ridge between the middle fork and south branch of the Feather River. It is

the furthest north, most breathtaking and the hardest to access. One road in and one road out, choked with downed and sometimes burning trees. We see a burnt bear cub trying to climb a tree, two miles further a mature bear, burnt but staying in the water trying to ease the pain. We give them both a chance because they made it this far. We don’t euthanize even though our brains say we should. Our hearts say let them try.

We have about six miles of road to make passable to get stock trailers through, but we make short work of it. Sometimes you can travel a quarter mile and sometimes a hundred feet. But chainsaws and strong hands get us there.

I have passed several streams today and tried to wade across one looking for cattle. It strikes me as strange. All the creeks have close to double the flow of last week. I see some springs running that haven’t been active for years. And it hits me. We have released the water that the brush was sucking from the land. The Native Americans were right again.

Observe. Let nature talk.

We pulled up the grade to Hartman and Whiskey Hill, and there were cattle tracks in the burn! Lots of them. I couldn’t believe it. The fire roared up out of the middle fork so quickly I expected nothing to be alive.

I had myself prepared. But we found cattle and some in pretty good shape. It was slow going. Incredibly steep and rugged with lost, hungry cattle. In one pocket we picked up 14 head with nary a scratch. Two old cows (12 plus years which is old for a cow) and a bunch of young stock. Those old ladies knew where to hide! Wisdom from days gone by.

After a long day, we had 32 alive and loaded. Some may not make it but we had to bring them home to give them a chance. They made it this far. More jarring, though, was to walk down the drainage by the old Mountain House Ridge corral and find 26 dead, spread from top to bottom. That fetid smell of death permeated the walk I used to love.

Even with the dead cattle on Hartman Ridge that we found, why did we find over half alive here and nowhere

else? If anything, I assumed this steep ridge gave them no chance at all. And I realized that there had been a much smaller fire here about five years ago. The country was more open and the fire moved quickly. Less fuel and more things lived. Trees, wildlife, and cows.

I observed the same phenomenon in the remnants of the town of Feather Falls—where only a school and cemetery remain. The school had over 80 students less than 50 years ago, until the lumber mill closed and the village died. The school was destroyed by fire.

The cemetery, however, still stands with green stately pines respecting the graves of mostly Native American veterans with flags at each grave. The cemetery was maintained free of deadfall and litter by family members.

All the trees lived.

Day five begins.

We move as fast as we can, opening roads with saws and running 4-wheelers down every logging spur.

We hope against hope for cow tracks but there are none. Hartman Ridge is about 10 miles long with the only narrow paved Forest Service road in the entire mountains. Nothing new but the cow tracks from those we found yesterday. Nothing at Socrates Spring, Harry Waite’s, the Lower Reservoir, DeJonah, Sheep Tank Meadow, Stag Point, Steward Ravine -- and a hundred more name places that are being lost. Nothing.

Up by Tamarack Flat, I run into five pick-ups belonging to timber reps from Sierra Pacific, the private land holder who we lease from and who has private property throughout our range. I am walking the logging road looking and listening, as I had run out of gas a mile or so ago. Too much country to cover! They were no doubt shocked to see me in that desolation striding down the road, covered in ash from head to foot. I know most of them. Foresters by trade who, like me, love the land. “It is all gone,” they say.

Almost. I told them I could show them a few pockets where trees survived. But very few. We are sad and angry together.

By the end of a grueling day, we have 7 head loaded.

Five of them are cattle we had seen before and were just able to get portable panels to and load, 3 of which are badly burned and will get a chance for feed and water before they will most likely die or need to be euthanized.

We know of three more live cattle that we have seen and not loaded. That may be it. Over one hundred brought home, so far, but I will be surprised if eighty live. Many of those who live will have lost their baby calves to fire. There are no words. 20% of the herd we drove to the mountains on June 1. Maybe.

Our crew will be smaller today. Rob flies back to his duty station in the army.

Kate is back working as a veterinarian.

They leave with overwhelming sadness and “we will help any way we can.” Most of the rest of our crew have to get back to their jobs, but “are a phone call away with a stock trailer” if we find something to load beyond the two trailers we will haul ourselves. I doubt we will. Kyle and I will start the search, compulsively walking creeks and canyons that we have already searched, hoping something straggles in behind. You never know and you can’t quit.

That is not who we are.

And now we go on. What will happen?

This is devastating emotionally and financially. And I am not sure of the next steps. I do know this: We must change our land management practices if we expect the West to survive. It is best done locally, not from DC or Sacramento, but I have tilted at windmills before.

We won’t quit. We need to get tougher and stronger.

We never have quit for 140 years and I won’t be the first. Suffer the bureaucratic maze and try to make incremental change. And, as always, work with nature.

I have to. Juni Daley, and the next generation, needs to see the mountains the same way we have seen them forever, to have hot chocolate on a cold fall morning and gather cows. It can’t be just stories from her Grandad.

We found an orphan heifer calf today, about two weeks old. Her mother didn’t make it.

Kyle stumbled on her hiding in one of the few living willow patches along a stream. He followed her for over an hour straight up from the bottom of a canyon.

We caught her and she is now on a bottle getting milk replacer. That rescue was good for my heart. My Granddaughter Juni’s first heifer I decide! They can grow up together.

We saw life at Fall River today. Green grass trying to sprout at a spring. Life is resilient. So are we. Next year. And the next 100.

It is day 12 and we still are at the same pace because we have no choice. We are finding one or two per day that have lived so it is difficult to stop, but that is dwindling so we have to shift our focus to those that lived. It is hard to do. We have put 1200 miles on the 4- wheelers on old logging roads and skid trails in the last few days. I quit counting the number of tires we have ruined and how much chainsaw work we are doing.

Unfortunately, today we had to begin euthanizing some of the cattle that we brought home. But they were home, fed and watered.

The fire is still not contained and takes runs depending on the wind. I am not sure what next year will bring.

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NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

Governance 2021-22 Policy Committee Leadership Selected In August, NCBA’s state affiliates were asked to submit names for nomination for the seven Policy Committees. The NCBA Officers, who include the Policy Division Chair and Vice Chair, have made their appointments from the state nominees. Listed below is NCBA’s Policy Committee leadership for the next two years.

Resolutions The Resolutions Committee is also appointed at this time. This committee reviews all policy passed in the Policy Committees as a final step before going to the NCBA Policy Division Board of Directors for approval.

When reviewing policy, here is what the committee members look for: 1. Conflict with any current policy 2. Duplication with any current policy 3. Correct grammar

If there is a conflict or duplication, the Resolutions Committee sends the policy back to the submitting committee to resolve the issue.

The 2021 Resolutions Committee leadership and committee members are below.

Chair, Nancy Jackson, DVM, MS Vice Chair, Linda Barnes, TN Alisa Ogden, NM Matt Boyer, OK Glen Graff, MN Jimmie Long, MO Margaret Ann Smith, VA Matt Germane, MI

Ag & Food Policy Chair, Joni Bucher, IL Vice Chair, Ken Herz, NE Cattle Health & Well Being Chair, Mary Ann Kniebel, KS Vice Chair, Dr. Tom Portillo, TX Federal Lands Chair, Dave Daley, CA Vice Chair, Jim Hellyer, WY International Trade Chair, Gene Copenhaver, VA

Vice Chair, Jaclyn Wilson, NE Live Cattle Marketing Chair, Jim Fryer, MT Vice Chair, Troy Sander, KS Property Rights and Environmental Management Chair, Tom Hougen, MT Vice Chair, Charlie Besher, MO Tax & Credit Chair, Leroy Startz, TX Vice Chair, Dan Rorvig, ND

NCBA has a hidden agenda driven by its staff.

Unlike some other cattle organizations, all NCBA efforts are driven by policy developed by volunteer cattle producer leaders. Most of these policies were first introduced by state affiliates who brought them to NCBA for consideration and action, openly discussed at committee meetings and voted into existence by volunteer NCBA Board members at the organization’s regular board meetings.

For instance, hours-long discussions in committee meetings at NCBA’s recent Summer Business Meeting established NCBA direction for many issues, including cattle marketing oversight. All voices were heard, and producer leaders worked hard to create a framework that would benefit the broadest section of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers.

Most recent example: Prior to the 2020 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting, ten resolutions were submitted. There were 30 state organizations (dark red) represented as sponsors of the various resolutions. During the meeting, 100% of the 44 state affiliate organizations* (dark and light red combined) were represented in the committees and on the Policy Division Board voting on the resolutions. This is grassroots in action!

Ten additional national organizations and breed associations, including American National CattleWomen, also participate in the policy making process.

Proactive Planning for Natural Disasters

By Julia Herman, DVM, MS Beef Cattle Specialist Veterinarian, NCBA and Christine Navarre, DVM, MS, DACVIM, Extension Veterinarian, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center Every year, farmers and ranchers are faced with management conditions out of their control. Natural disasters can appear quickly and be devastating to an operation and its community. From fires in the west, flooding in the Midwest, and hurricanes in the southeast, agricultural and cattle industries across the country have been truly tested over the past year.

Emergency preparedness is integral to keeping people and livestock safe during these events.

All cattle operations – feedlots, stockers, cow-calf ranches – could benefit from having a written emergency action plan. These emergency plans provide one of the best methods for farms and ranches to mitigate the consequences of a natural disaster.

An operation can identify specific disasters to plan for, such as a tornado or hurricane, or institute an “all hazards” philosophy when building a plan. Plans can be customized to the operation with useful information such as Premise ID Number (PIN), owner/manager’s name and phone number, physical address, and a list of important telephone numbers such as the herd veterinarian, local emergency response teams, police department, utility companies, among others. A full list of recommended information can be found in the Checkoff-funded National Beef Quality Assurance Manual at bqa.org.

Though it is not possible to fully prevent losses, advanced planning keeps losses at a minimum. Record keeping, including photographs of equipment and supplies, and detailed herd records, will aid in recovery efforts in addition to assessing damage after a disaster event. Speak to your insurance provider to understand your policy and how

your operation is supported. A site map or layout of the operation may prove useful to emergency response teams with a visual description of buildings, pastures, equipment sheds, and other structures to navigate.

For the livestock, in addition to record keeping, animal identification will help in case animals are commingled during rescue efforts. Dangle tags, official USDA identification, or branding are commonly used. In emergency situations, information can be spray painted on the animal for temporary identification. Cattle will be stressed, and their behaviors can change drastically after a disaster, so lowstress handling is critical to ensure safety of both animals and handlers.

It is strongly recommended that cattle producers work with their veterinarians and resource team to construct a practical emergency action plan for their operation. Ensure that all family and farm personnel understand the plans and also have plans for their own safety. Having annual trainings and emergency action plan drills can increase efficiency and understanding when the emergency event occurs. Providing preparedness checklists before and during the training is a valuable tool.

The beauty of working in agriculture is the community built around the operation. Cooperating with your neighbors during the planning and recovery phases will prepare everyone for coordinated disaster response. These partnerships extend to regional and state officials as the area recovers in the months and years after the event.

For more information, visit bqa.org or contact your state animal health office or extension service.

*Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Washington each have two state organizations.

NATIONAL CATTLEMEN 9

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Cattle Producers Recognized for Outstanding Environmental Stewardship

In a special edition of NCBA’s Cattlemen to Cattlemen, seven of the nation’s top cattle operations were honored for implementing practices that make them true stewards of land, air and water resources.

Each of these farms and ranches exemplify the commitment of all producers to protect the resources in their care and improve their operations for future generations of cattlemen and women.

Region I SK Herefords – New York

REGIONAL AWARD WINNERS: Region I – SK Herefords – New York Region II – Southern Cross Farms – Mississippi Region III – Euken-Myers Family – Iowa Region IV – Double C Cattle Company – Oklahoma Region V – Beatty Canyon Ranch – Colorado Region VI – Boies Ranch – Nevada Region VII – Johnson Farms – South Dakota “Cattle producers are the original stewards of the land. For generations, cattlemen and cattlewomen have shared a commitment to improving their operations with an understanding that better management techniques improve the productivity of our farms and ranches. Those improvements allow us to produce high-quality beef while also giving back to our communities in the form of beautiful open spaces, wildlife habitat and of course, a highquality beef product,” said NCBA President Marty Smith. “These seven operations provide an excellent demonstration that agricultural stewardship can

Region II

Region III

Southern Cross Farms – Mississippi

Region V Beatty Canyon Ranch – Colorado

improve habitat and the environment everywhere across the nation.”

Established in 1991, by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to recognize outstanding land stewards in the cattle industry, the Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) is generously sponsored by Corteva Agriscience; McDonald’s; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation.

The operators of these seven cattle farms and ranches were awarded regional environmental stewardship awards and each will advance to be considered for the 2021 National Environmental Stewardship Award, to be announced in 2021.

To see videos of each winning operation, visit www.youtube.com/user/ CattlemenToCattlemen or scan the QR code.

Euken-Myers Family – Iowa

Region VI Boies Ranch – Nevada

Region I V Double C Cattle Company – Oklahoma

Region VII Johnson Farms – South Dakota

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10

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NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

Market Matters Hide Values In Trouble

By Katelyn McCullock, Director of the Livestock Marketing Information Center The hide industry is going through an extensive low period due to pandemic related changes in manufacturing and demand. The U.S. native and butt branded steer values hit the lowest monthly average price in May 2020 at $29.15 per piece despite significant supply contraction due to slaughter plant disruptions.

This data is released by USDA AMS weekly. Prior to 2020, the lowest monthly average was $34.18 per piece back in 2009. The recession in 2009 saw hide values drop below $40 per hide for three months and quickly recovered. The situation in 2020 is substantially worse.

Hide values have registered below $34 per piece for five months so far and two have been below $30 per piece.

Persistently low prices have not been helped by lower supplies. In data through mid-October, year to date total cattle slaughter is down 3.5 percent. Shoes, cars, clothing, and accessories are all highly consumer cyclical goods. The downturn in the economy has lowered purchases of these products worldwide and is likely to follow other consumer cyclical trends in response as well. However, the longer-term demand profile for leather has weakened significantly since the highs set in 2014. In 2019, a few news articles circulated regarding hides without markets ending up in landfills.

One story was covered in Cattle Buyers Weekly article dated August 31, 2020, estimated that nearly 16 percent of hides went to landfills in 2019. That number has likely increased as export markets have plummeted in 2020.

Cattle hides historically have been a large contributor to drop value. In the last two decades, the highest annual quantity of whole cattle hides shipped from the

U.S. was 26.9 million according to USDA Foreign WHOLE HIDE EXPORTS Agricultural Service. That represented 75 percent US Total, FAS Series, Monthly Mil. Head of the total cattle slaughtered that year. This 2,000.0 figure excludes hides shipped as smaller partial 1,800.0 hides. In 2013, the U.S. saw cattle hide exports drop significantly, 25 percent below the prior 1,600.0 year. Since then hide exports have remained under 20 million pieces. The average annual hide 1,400.0 export number from 2013-2019 has been 18.5 million whole hide pieces compared to 2000-2012 1,200.0 was 23.6 million whole hides. Whole cattle hides 1,000.0 exported represented only 55 percent of the 800.0 number of total cattle slaughtered in 2019.

The initial drop in hide exports was at least in 600.0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC part caused by the record high hide prices in the Avg. 2014/18 2019 2020 U.S. in 2012 and 2013, which averaged $129.50 per piece. Those values have fallen fairly consistently Data Source: USDA-FAS, Compiled by LMIC since but the export market has not returned.

Livestock Marketing Information Center Even with hide values in the U.S. falling to new largest U.S. whole hide market and those exports are record lows, exports are down in 2020 as well. In down 47% year to date (Jan-Aug). trade data available January through August, whole hide The key driver for leather products is consumer exports are down 21 percent year-over-year. demand, and it begs the question if an improvement The situation in 2020 likely compounded an already in the economy will increase hide values significantly? lower demand profile that was struggling to return.

The forecast for economic recovery is still murky with The issue, however, is multi-faceted. Many factories in regards to how quickly the U.S. and the world will return China and around the world dealt with closures related to pre-COVID levels. Still, leather demand appeared to to COVID-19. China is the largest leather manufacturer be waning ahead of COVID-19, and although we would in the world and U.S. whole hide exports to China are expect a rebound in values, hide values may not have down 8 percent January through August. China bought the demand drivers that would favor a sharp increase.

55 percent of the total U.S. whole hide exports last year.

The monthly average U.S. native and butt branded steer South Korea is the U.S. second largest market, worth from 1992-2019 was $84.79 per piece, but 2019 was only 16 percent of total whole hide exports in 2019. Those $47.71. It seems likely that hide values will remain closer shipments are down 48 percent or 933 thousand pieces. to the 2019 average in the short term rather than long Mexico, 13 percent of U.S. whole hides in 2019, has seen term historical average. shipments this year fall 30 percent. Thailand is the fourth

Changing Fundamentals in Corn and Soybeans

By Troy Bockelmann, Analyst, CattleFax With the September Stocks report and the October World Ag Supply and Demand Report (WASDE) in the rearview mirror, where do the grain and oilseed markets go from here? Coming into the October WASDE, the change in stocks for corn and soybeans was well known. The change in acres for corn and soybeans created an interesting dynamic for the next several months. Corn acres decreased by 1 million, while 700,000 acres were reduced from soybeans.Corn acres now sit at 91 million and soybeans are pegged at 83.1 million. After a decrease in demand for feed and residual and ethanol use, corn stocks-to-use decreased from 17.1 percent to 14.9 for the 2020/21 market year. With strong export

sales for soybeans, specifically to China, export demand increased 75 million bushels, to 2.2 billion.

When combined with the decreased beginning stocks and acres, stocks-to-use decreased from 10.4 percent to 6.4. This is the lowest in 3 years and well below the 22.9 percent in 2018/19. Corn stocks-touse remains comfortable, yet soybean stocks-to-use are in a tight position.

Harvest is moving along and expected to continue at a steady pace with favorable weather forecasted. Could both corn and soybeans find tighter supplies due to yield risk? CattleFax models suggest that corn yield is closer to 176.5 bu./acre.

And while the current USDA yield of 178.4 is within the margin of error for the model, the estimate is on the higher end. The USDA soybean yield estimate is 51.9 bu./acre, while much like corn, CattleFax models are closer to 50.5. Each one-bushel change in yield is worth 1.7 percent stocks-to-use for soybeans, all else constant. As harvest nears completion, yield will be a significant driver in soybean prices, and as a result support corn price.

Corn and soybean demand are also supporting the market. While exports in 2019/20 slowed from the pace set the previous two years, exports in the weekly data are showing strong growth in the first five weeks of the market year. Outstanding corn export sales are sitting at a record level of 873 million bushels for the 2020/21 market year.

The same can be said for soybean outstanding sales. With elevated levels of cattle on feed, as well as large hog and poultry supplies, feed and

November Weather

By Don Day, Jr. Meteorologist

Editor’s Note: NCBA members can read weekly updates from meteorologist Don Day, Jr. by logging onto www.NCBA.org.

While a large part of October was warmer than normal for many areas of the United States (especially central and west), the last half of October finally brought colder temperatures, rain and snow to many areas as the month came to an end. Now, we are looking at a new month and a new set of weather patterns as the longer nights and the shorter days will work to bring more cold fronts and more storms to the U.S.

One factor to take a close look at is the strengthening La Nina in the subtropical Pacific.

As of late October, La Nina (cooler than average temperatures in the Pacific Ocean near the equator) was gaining strength. La Nina will improve where the jet stream will be most active as well as playing a large role in who gets cold and who stays mild as we head into November. The graphic below shows the sea surface temperature anomalies across the globe.

La Nina is the large blue area from South America westward to the northeast of Australia.

In previous La Nina years, the coldest and most active weather in November generally is along the northern tier of the U.S. This is especially true from the Pacific Northwest to the Northern Rockies and into the Great Lakes and New England. Conversely, the southwest and south tend to be warmer in November.

The computer modeling is also showing these trends which leads to increased confidence in the longrange forecast for November.

Beef producers need to be ready for winter to

residual demand remains robust. Ethanol production continues to lag year-ago levels due to COVID-19 influenced demand loss. Overall, corn and soybean demand remain strong.

Since the August lows, spot corn futures have posted a $1 rally to a 14-month high of $4.05/bu. this week. At the same time, soybean futures have rallied nearly $2.00/bu. Acres and yield have continued to move lower into the fall. Money flow has also been a large driver to both markets. For corn, the Managed Money long position started to increase in late June, then offsetting their short position in August.

Since June 9 the Managed Money net long position has increased 419,000 contracts in total, a 311,000 contract change since August.

Is the market looking at increased yield risk, continued stout demand, or competition from soybeans for acres? Since January 2015, stocks-touse has averaged 14.5 percent. For the January to March period, USDA reported stocks-to-use have been between 11.9 percent in 2019 to 15.8 percent in 2018. Spot corn futures have not averaged above $3.90/bu. in January, February, or March, since 2014 when the market was coming out of the 2012 to 2013 drought, and stocks-to-use averaged 11.5 percent.

Given current fundamental expectations, spot corn futures would see a practical range of $3.50 to $4.00/bu. Yet, with both corn and soybean yield risk, along with continued drought throughout much of the country, combined with solid demand both globally and domestically, prices may continue to stay elevated until the market receives confirmation of the available supplies ahead, or demand has been adequately rationed. rear its ugly head at times in November, especially in the northern tier of the U.S. and for our friends north of the border into Canada. Odds are good that one or two large winter storms will impact many of you in November.

The adjacent graphic shows expected temperatures in November. The blue areas show where temperatures are expected to be below average. Orange areas show where temperatures may be a little warmer than normal for November. Note that the cold is not extensive but could come in strong at times.

Areas where temperatures will be cooler than normal are also areas where precipitation may be near to above average.

The graphic below shows the expected precipitation trends in November for the United States.

Description automatically generated The Pacific Northwest and Midwest have the best chances for a wet November. Unfortunately, precipitation may be below average for California again in November.

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NATIONAL CATTLEMEN

Stimulus #2 Could Boost Beef’s Holiday Season

By Don Close, Senior Animal Protein Analyst with Rabo AgriFinance For the first six months of the pandemic, the beef market has not only gotten along better than expected; it has flourished. The biggest surprise has been the exceptional red meat demand, especially for beef, despite the huge unemployment levels. Making that surge in beef demand even more unbelievable is that it has occurred with casual and fine dining restaurants closed or only partially open with limited seating, curbside pick-up or delivery. One huge influence on the increased demand was the early stimulus money and the additional $600 a week unemployment benefit that lasted to the end of July. Given a number of factors that could work against beef demand heading into the winter, the still-evasive second round of stimulus checks could be an important asset for beef’s continued success through the next stage of this COVID-19 era.

True, half the story for beef’s success this spring and summer has been disposable income. The other half has been consumer behavior. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, an estimated 51 percent of meals were eaten away from home. With the initial outbreak, that ratio was destroyed.

How that has manifested itself varies a lot by sector.

Fast food’s drive-through business was lower at the initial shutdown but has since flourished. The same cannot be said for casual and fine dining restaurants.

Business was off by 75 to 80 percent initially, according to restaurant industry publications. While they have reopened with limited indoor seating, outdoor seating and curbside pick-up, casual and fine dining is still estimated to be off year-ago levels by 25 to 30 percent. Airline travel continues to be 50 to 75 percent below year-ago levels, with business travel still all but prohibited. The absence of business travel’s credit card dining is a huge hit to fine dining establishments.

Those who have been working at home took the perspective that if they were stuck at home and unable to go out to eat, they would use a share of disposable income to eat better at home. The job that was done by packers, processors, and warehouse distributors to channel meat away from hotels, restaurants, and institutional (HRI) businesses and sell that product through retail has been nothing short of magic.

Also contributing to the spring and summer market’s success was weather. As the weather transitions into winter, a new set of challenges will emerge. First, fewer people will be inclined to fire up their grills. Second, the number of restaurants offering sidewalk or patio dining will become more restrictive over a large share of the country. Restaurants across many cities have been able to increase indoor seating from 25 to 50 percent or 50 to 75 percent, but they remain vulnerable to state and city ordinances that can change with infection rates.

A third challenge will be the loss of corporate holiday parties. The corporate holiday party season is important for high-end beef demand. With many corporate offices still closed to the majority of employees and limiting in-person gatherings for at least the remainder of the year, there will not be the traditional parties that vary in offerings from chicken wings to prime rib.

The bottom line is that consumers are, for the most part, becoming familiar with COVID-19 restrictions, and the impacts we have seen to date have been much more positive to beef demand than what was originally anticipated. At the same time, the market is going through a seasonal change that will make beef usage more of a challenge. Hopefully, we will continue to be surprised.

A second round of stimulus checks would help.

Stimulus 2 has been debated in Congress ever since Stimulus 1 payments ran out at the end of July.

Unfortunately, politics of an election year, compounded with the wide gap between House and Senate versions

of the bill, have prevented any meaningful progress. At the time of writing, it is difficult to determine if there will be last-minute passage in an attempt to swing votes or if there will be no compromise until after the election. If there is a silver lining to a delay in passage, it’s that any final agreement would likely be retroactive, meaning that consumers would receive a big government check just in front of the holidays.

If you are interested in additional insights into the beef industry, find the closest Rabo AgriFinance office on www.RaboAg.com.

Rabo AgriFinance is a leading financial services provider for agricultural producers and agribusinesses in the United States. Adding value through industry expertise, client-focused solutions and long-term business relationships, Rabo AgriFinance offers a comprehensive portfolio of services that gives producers the right products to prepare for and take advantage of market opportunities. This comprehensive suite includes loans, insurance, input finance and effective risk management products. Rabo AgriFinance is a division of Rabobank, a premier bank to the global agriculture industry and one of the world’s largest and strongest banks. Rabo AgriFinance is an equal opportunity provider.

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Methane – A Black Eye for Cattle industry? indefinitely over time. CO2 emitted by burning fossil fuels can take 1,000 years to break down in the atmosphere. This discrepancy is finally being addressed through GWP*. In fact, using the new calculation, U.S. cattle move from contributing 2% of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions to being responsible for only 0.4%.

GWP* was first reported by the Climate Dynamics research team at the University of Oxford in 2018 and has been gaining acceptance in the scientific community as a more accurate accounting for methane’s effects on warming. In its previous reports, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) acknowledged the shortcomings of current methods of reporting methane impacts and may recommend a change to GWP* in their next report, which sets the standard for global emissions reporting. Many reports have relied on the old calculation, resulting in some organizations publishing articles advocating for plantbased diets. These results may change, however, when GWP* is adopted more broadly. By identifying better science, NCBA is better positioned to push back on organizations who are not accurately portraying the U.S. cattle industry. It also allows us to build the case that the cattle industry may actually be off-setting the warming effect of other industries. With these insights, cattle producers may be able to find ways to lead in reducing the atmospheric burden of CO2, and be a part of the solution by helping reduce the intensity of climate change. Instead of vilifying the industry, those truly interested in comprehensive and sensible approaches to

Animal Activist Group Monitoring While 2020 has presented new issues and challenges for the beef industry, animal activist groups remain a persistent and constant threat. In fact, these groups have leveraged the COVID-19 pandemic to shed light on their goal of ending animal agriculture.

That is why NCBA closely monitors their activity—to gain insight on their tactics and claims about beef—and to provide support to members and affiliates.

Recent tactics Animal activist groups have recently increased their attention toward influencing local governments.

For example in California, animal activists have made several runs for public office, they’ve petitioned city governments to remove meat from publicly-funded programs like jails and hospitals, and they’ve even contacted the governor about placing a moratorium on new animal agriculture operations. Activist groups throughout the nation have also called on local governments to divest from animal agriculture, holding protests outside state capital buildings. Through NCBA’s monitoring capabilities, we know that these protests had fewer than 10 attendees and received virtually no media coverage. However, that doesn’t stop these groups from pushing forward with their agenda. They have also attempted to spread their message by trespassing on farms and ranches, to

perform "open rescues” of animals and capturing graphic undercover video. Though the groups oppose the beef industry, their main focus in recent months has been the pork and poultry industries.

Tips for producers As always, farm security is paramount. It is not recommended to engage with animal activist groups in-person or online. Doing so would likely only further spread the group’s message and bring greater attention to their platforms, elevating the issue to consumers who otherwise would not have seen it. If someone tries to gain access to your operation, alert local law enforcement. These groups rely heavily on

2E+11

1.5E+11

Emissions, kg CO2 equivalent

Methane is often cited for why beef is a major contributor to global warming. However, a new (and more accurate) assessment of the effect of methane shows that when the short atmospheric life of methane is accounted for, the U.S. cattle industry may NOT be contributing much at all to global warming. Why is that important? If you read the anti-beef reports related to climate change, the argument against beef is focused on the high amount of methane produced by cattle through the ruminant digestive process. Methane is viewed as a powerful greenhouse gas that has 25-35 times the warming impact of CO2, but when that impact naturally goes away because methane is broken down in the atmosphere the picture of beef’s impact on global warming is significantly changed. Armed with this new methodology, the U.S. cattle industry may be able to show it makes minimal contributions to global warming, and in the future, may even suggest cattle production is helping to “cool” the effects of other industries, such as transportation and electricity generation.

A recent report written by Dr. Jason Sawyer at King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management and commissioned by NCBA to apply the new calculation (called Global Warming Potential Star, or GWP*) to the U.S. cattle herd shows promising evidence that our industry’s improvements over the last few decades has us hovering around zero warming equivalents from methane contributions. GWP* accounts for methane’s meager 10-12 year lifespan in the atmosphere, instead of accounting for methane emissions accumulating

US Beef Cattle Annual Methane Emissions 2.5E+11

1E+11

5E+10

0

-5E+10

-1E+11

-1.5E+11 1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

2015

2020

Year GWP100, kg CO2 eq

GWP*2, kg CO2 we

mitigation should become the cattle industry’s strongest supporters.

Is the U.S. cattle industry climate neutral, or even climate positive? When you look at the soil and grasslands maintained by the cattle industry, it is certainly a strong possibility. If the industry continues its tradition of reducing emissions per unit of beef delivered to consumers (through nutrition, technologies, and genetics) while also continuing to be stewards of the land by continuously improving grazing lands to stimulate plant and root growth (pulling down more CO2 from the atmosphere), then climate positive beef is very possible. It’s time the industry stops ducking the issue of greenhouse gas emissions and takes the bull by the horns. If the world wants to address global warming (along with many other related issues like catastrophic wildfires), cattle are not only a part of the equation, but are the best solution. the use of Wi-Fi-dependent video and audio recorders to acquire footage of animal agriculture operations for their campaigns. If a new or unrecognized Wi-Fi network has become recently available at or around your operation, it may be a sign that a device has been installed. If you suspect a threat to your operation, reach out to NCBA for help and guidance; we’re here to assist our members navigate issues such as this.

NCBA will continue to monitor and alert members who may be impacted by protests or other activist tactics. And of course, we will continue to proactively share the great work of beef farmers and ranchers with consumers.

NCBA proactively monitors activist group activity in a variety of ways: • NCBA is an active member of Animal Agriculture Alliance, a nonprofit whose goal is to share information and resources among animal agriculture organizations. Through this work, NCBA receives regular updates about planned animal activist group activity, which allows us to alert stakeholders who may be impacted, as well as proactively share the positive stories of the beef industry.

• NCBA’s Digital Command Center is staffed daily to monitor print, online, and social media for articles, trends, themes, and hashtags about activist groups.

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NEWS State of the Consumer The Consumer Landscape The year 2020 has been transformative and its impact on every corner of our society will be felt for years to come. For many, the year started just like any other, with resolutions for the new year and the hope and promise of a new decade.

That quickly changed with the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. People experienced disruption in all aspect of their lives and their communities: empty store shelves, fear in the stock market, losing jobs, and concern for the economy.

This overview provides a snapshot of how domestic consumers have responded to these unprecedented events.

We would be remiss if we did not start with the domestic emergence of COVID-19 and its impact on consumers. As the virus hit, and cities and states went into quarantine, a tremendous impact on job security was noted. According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate in April hit nearly 15 percent and stayed above 10 percent for multiple months for the first time since 1982-1983. The good news on the labor front is that August was back in the single digits at about 8.7 percent; however, that is still nearly 5 percent higher than the 2019 average16. While we are seeing a downtrend in some areas, 65 percent of consumers still claim to be very concerned6 with COVID19’s impact. The actual reasons for concern differ for many but regardless, the concern is real and has caused a tremendous emotional toll on consumers.

In fact, 30.9 percent of consumers reported depression or anxiety during the pandemic, which is up nearly 4-fold when compared to 2019.

Current Situation Consumer mindset has also been cautious in nature. Since the end of August, only 26 percent of consumers claim to be comfortable with eating inside at a restaurant—when you include comfort of eating outside at a restaurant that number is closer to 40 percent. This is not isolated to food; less than 20 percent of people show comfort in going to the gym, attending indoor or outdoor sporting events, and just over 20 percent are comfortable going to community activities such as church services6. Consumers state that they do want to get back to what they were doing, it is just a matter of when they will be comfortable. Even with a vaccine potentially on the horizon, only 50 percent of people think life will get back to normal when it becomes available6.

Long-Term Outlook An area that saw tremendous promise during the pandemic was e-commerce, specifically, online meal and grocery ordering. During the pandemic, 67 percent of consumers claimed they had ordered groceries online at some point and 86 percent claimed to have ordered a meal online. Of those engaged in online ordering for meals/groceries nearly 70 percent mentioned doing it more or just started due to COVID-1912. Regarding meat, 73 percent of online baskets contained meat during this time13. When asked directly about beef, only 5 percent of consumers indicated they were unsatisfied with their beef experience12. All these points together support the accelerated adoption as more people have been ordering through these avenues and are happy with the experience.

As the current environment continues for the near future, it is important to look at some opportunities that may be on the horizon. Consumers are cooking more at home than before. They are looking for meal preparation ideas and recipes to eat some of the food they have on hand or to help change up what they may be looking for1. NCBA’s Consumer Beef Tracker, a continuous tracker of consumer perceptions related to the protein landscape, funded by the Beef Checkoff, also shows a shift in what is driving consumption during the pandemic. Yes, taste and the eating experience still dominate the decision process, along with value aspects, but versatility and convenience pop up as a primary driver of consumption during this time4. Looking at the retail sales and seeing the versatility mindset of consumers, it makes sense to see ground beef sales made up a large portion of beef’s growth through the pandemic10.

Outlook for Beef Given the lack of comfort and so many questions across the consumer population, it is hard to say when consumers will feel a sense of normalcy. All that said, beef is in a great position. From January to September 2020 the percentage of consumers claiming to eat beef at least weekly has increased from 67 percent to 72 percent compared to 2019. In addition, the number of people with a positive perception of beef has increased, resulting in positive perceptions reaching 70 percent for the first time. NCBA plans to keep this momentum going through the following actions:

Digital Media Habits As quarantine’s and lockdowns continued, consumer’s at-home activities began to shift. Just when you thought consumers could not spend any more time online, online media consumption during the height of the pandemic, continued to grow. According to Nielsen, in Q2 of 2020, 142.5 billion minutes, weekly, were spent streaming video, which is 74 percent higher than the same quarter in 201914.

Outside of streaming, digital website visitation was also up during the pandemic.

Total digital website visits increased nearly 50 percent in mid-April and continue to be above 30 percent as of the end of July. All in all, consumers are spending nearly 50 more minutes on app or web-based content through their cell phones or tablets14. Regarding beef specifically, searches that ended with consumers landing on Beefitswhatsfordinner.com also saw changes. The most notable were general increases in the top searches for classics like meatloaf, stuffed peppers and preparing London Broil. Additionally, more focus was seen on recipes in general, but specifically oven roasting7.

Impact on the Food Industry The shock that came from the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the food industry immensely and consumer’s food purchasing behavior shifted. Foodservice saw transactions down nearly 80 percent at full-service restaurants and over 40 percent at quick-service restaurants during the peak of the outbreak. This has steadied, and while transactions are not at the level seen last year, some data shows transactions have not gone below a 20 percent decline since August15. On the flip side, consumers started stocking up at their local grocery store at an unprecedented national level. As a result of stocking up, retail sales skyrocketed.

Looking at meat specifically, sales in July were 36 percent higher than a year ago. For context, 1-2 percent growth in a typical year would be a very positive thing. As a result of this, 91 percent of consumers experienced out of stocks on meat or poultry at some point during the pandemic13.

Action items delivered by Beef. It’s What for Dinner. and other programs, managed

by NCBA, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff: • NCBA will continue to complete first-of-its-kind exploratory e-commerce marketing campaigns to help the supply chain accelerate the sales of fresh beef in this rapidly changing environment.

• Consumers are cooking more meals at home now than prior to COVID-19.

NCBA will continue to push out cooking information and recipe inspiration through digital, social media and traditional media platforms and leverage impactful, high-profile influencers or thought leaders.

• Consumers are spending more time online and streaming video than prior to COVID-19. NCBA will continue to utilize a variety of marketing platforms (digital/social/traditional) to continuously reach the consumer.

• NCBA will continue to look for opportunities to remind consumers that beef should be the centerpiece of their dinner, especially as we move into the holiday season.

• Beef demand and perceptions have remained strong throughout 2020.

Positive consumer perceptions of beef and beef production increased during the pandemic. Consumers increased weekly beef eatings and were willing to pay more for the product. With strong domestic consumer demand-building programs NCBA is focused on keeping this strong demand going.

Beef Behaviors and COVID Report, April-September 2020 Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, August 14, 2020; “Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic” 3 Comscore Media Metrix Custom Reporting, 2020 4 Consumer Beef Tracker; Jan 2019-September 2020 5 Deloitte Insights – Weekly Global Economic Update October 2020 6 Directions Research; COVID-19 Consumer Response Tracker 7 Google Analytics for BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com 8 Google Trends 9 Housing - Bloomberg Business - Urban Exiles Are Fueling a Suburban Housing Boom Across the U.S. August 2020 & Forbes - People Fleeing Big Cities May Spur Economic Growth In Smaller Metros September 2020 10 IRI Total US, MULO, 1 week % change vs. YA – August 2020 11 McKinsey & Company. US consumer Sentiment During the Coronavirus Crisis – October 2020 12 Online Grocery and Meal Ordering Reports, April 2020 13 The Midyear Power of Meat 2020 14 The Nielsen Total Audience Report; August 2020 15 The NPD group COVID-19 Situation Analysis and Crest Performance Alerts 16 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; August 2020 17 Washington Post - Last year, we searched Google for how to tie a tie. Now we’re using it to find toilet paper, By Alyssa Fowers, April 17 1

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