Board Commentary
RAAA Board of Directors President Johnny Rogers Roxboro, North Carolina jrrogers1968@gmail.com First Vice President/ Area 1 Director - West Sam Lorenzen Bend, Oregon lorenzensam@gmail.com Second Vice President/ Region A Director Chuck Feddes Manhattan, Montana feddesredangus@gmail.com Region B Director Connie Mushrush Strong City, Kansas redcows@mushrushredangus.com Region C Director Jeff Pettit Sebree, Kentucky jp@noashconstruction.com Area 2 Director - Montana/ Board Secretary Kay Klompien Manhattan, Montana klmpnra@gmail.com Area 3 Director - Rocky Mountain Aaron Kravig Karval, Colorado akravig@kravigredangus.com Area 4 Director - Southwest Tony Ballinger Morgan Mills, Texas anthony.ballinger@adm.com Area 5 Director - Northern Plains Steve Koester Steele, North Dakota koesterredangus@gmail.com Area 6 Director - Great Plains Newley Hutchison Canton, Oklahoma newley@chainranch.com
by Kay Klompien, Area 2 Director – Montana
Build Your Program I will always be grateful for the advice given to me from a dear friend, Melvin Leland, several years ago. I would like to pass along some of his insight. “Build a program,” he said. At first, I took it lightly. Isn’t that what everybody was doing? Through the years I have contemplated Melvin’s advice. He meant more than just any program. He was talking about a complete, solid, honest, no-holes program. At this time, I would like to say, “Thank you, Melvin.” Your words have inspired me to dig deep, work hard and use tools to go beyond the standards. Build a program – what does that look like? It may take years. Where to start? What should it look like in five, 10, 20 or even 40 years? Whether you are a registered or commercial operation, large or small, I encourage you to also follow Melvin’s advice. Base your program on quality, integrity and BIG DREAMS. Be a visionary! Make short goals that fit in with your long-term plan. Speaking of plans, RAAA just released the strategic plan for the next five years. Yes, they too are dreaming big. The plan is based on commit-
ment, innovation and integrity. To view the RAAA strategic plan, go to: bit.ly/RAAAStrategicPlan21. Additionally, there are many great value-added programs within RAAA. They are designed to support both commercial and registered breeders. Contact the national office for assistance. They are happy to help you identify and use the programs that best align with and enhance your program. Back to building our own programs – we all know that Red Angus is the most-favored female. Why is she in that position? The simple answer is because of Red Angus breeders’ grit, commitment, innovation, discipline and focus on economically relevant traits, along with the fertility, structure and disposition of the mama cow. That’s right, the Red Angus mama cow continues to be the favored female because of discipline and focus. To keep her in high regard, we must keep her under constant scrutiny and constantly seek opportunities to better her position. Focus? Scrutiny? Discipline? A better position? How do we get there? Let’s start with a little herd evaluation:
Area 7 Director - Northeast Rob Hess Hershey, Pennsylvania hessfarm@verizon.net Area 8 Director - Southeast Jim Yance Columbia, Alabama jim@jyjredangus.com Area 9 Director - Midwest Stuart Gilbert Stockport, Iowa redcowrelocators@gmail.com
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RED ANGUS Magazine October 2021
It takes focus and discipline to develop a complete, solid, honest, no-holes program.
