2019 Montana Farmers Union Producer Conference

 

January 23, 2019

Chick Wilfong, who calls himself 'a cowboy humorist and mischievous offender of rules,' will provide entertainment at the Beef N Brews Event sponsored by the MSU-Northern Collegiate Stockgrowers.

The annual Montana Farmers Union (MFU) Producer Conference is once again coming to Havre. This year the Conference will be held January 25-26 at the Northern Ag Research Center (NARC). The MFU and the MSU-Northern (MSUN) Collegiate Stockgrowers invite area producers to join them for what promises to be relevant information on topics like cattle markets and cattle handling, Ag risk coverage, Ag advocacy, as well as a Beef N Brews celebration.

The Conference will open at 12:30 on Friday, January 25 for registration at the NARC. The NARC is located at 3710 Assiniboine Road, which is about seven miles southwest of Havre on U.S. Highway 87. Following announcements and welcoming statements, Matt Perdue from the National Farmers Union will speak. His presentation will focus on lobbying, the political scene on Capitol Hill and how the political climate affects the agriculture industry.


At 2:30, Aeric Reilly will share information about Ag Risk Coverage. Reilly, who lives and works in Great Falls, has built his career on helping farmers and ranchers. His early work for a farming advocacy group fueled his desire to get involved in legislation and ag policy. Working in crop insurance became a natural next step to continue serving the ag community. He owns Reilly Insurance Agency and has been an integral part of the AgRisk Advisors team for several years, working specifically with cattle ranchers.

After Reilly's workshop, Jess Peterson, a Senior Policy Analyst with the United States Cattlemen's Association (USCA), will share information about Fake Meat and Electronic Logging Devices. In his role with the USCA, Peterson guides organizational objectives and ensures the effective delivery of USCA's key priority messages. Their official message on plant-based and lab-grown proteins that are appearing on grocery shelves and being labelled as meat is to demand that lab-grown proteins be called anything but beef or meat.


In order to protect beef's reputation, the cattlemen's group has petitioned the USDA to specifically define meat as "the tissue or flesh of animals that have been harvested in the traditional manner."

According to the Federal Meat Inspection Act, "the term 'meat food product' means any product capable of use as human food which is made wholly or in part from any meat or other portion of the carcass of any cattle, sheep, swine, or goats."


Given that definition, lab-grown proteins can be marketed and sold as beef, without the distinction that they were cultured in a petri dish using calf blood serum or plant-based serums instead of being produced in a pasture and feedlot. So as to ensure that beef's reputation isn't hijacked by alternative protein companies, Peterson will argue that consumers deserve the right to know and to make the choice for themselves.

Although these products are protein and may be edible, the USCA's position is that they need their own category where they can negotiate their own trade deals, their own safety requirements and their own label. According to the USCA, producers need to seriously consider how meat is defined, regulated and marketed.

Another area in which the USCA gives voice to ranchers in legislative matters related to the beef industry is by supporting the Department of Transportation's (DOT) decision to delay implementation of electronic logging devices (ELD) for livestock haulers. The USCA believes that continuing discussions on how ELDs will impact hours of service (HOS) for cattle transport is important.

USCA's position is that livestock haulers need additional flexibility in the mandate, specifically in the restrictive HOS rules. According to Peterson, USCA will continue to be an active participant in these discussions and asks its members to do the same by submitting comments and keeping pressure on their elected officials to support the industry in securing these needed changes.

ELDs are a record keeping device synchronized to a truck's engine that logs information digitally. In real-time, an ELD records data such as time spent on the road, miles driven, location and engine hours.

Under the ELD rule, truckers have an HOS limit of 11 hours of driving in a 24-hour period. Drivers can be on-duty a total of 14 hours consecutively, including the 11 hours of drive time. After 11 hours are reached, drivers must rest and be off-duty for 10 consecutive hours.

The mission of the USCA is to present an effective voice for the United States cattle industry on issues like these. USCA is dedicated to, and focused on, efforts in Washington, DC to further the interests of cattle producers on mandatory country of origin labeling, international trade, market competition, reform of the mandatory beef checkoff, animal health, welfare and identification, private property rights and other issues that affect the U.S. cattle industry.

Peterson's presentation will conclude the Conference day on Friday, but evening festivities will begin at 5:00 p.m. when the MSUN Collegiate Stockgrowers will host their Beef N Brews Event at the Student Union Ballroom (SUB) at 300 13th Street West on the campus of MSUN. Tickets for the event will be available at the door or can be obtained in advance by calling MSUN Collegiate Stockgrowers President, Luke Rech at 605-850-9886.

According to Rech, a social hour beginning at approximately 5:00 p.m. will feature beer samples from Triple Dog Brewing and Old Station Brewing Companies. Following the social at 6:00 p.m., a BBQ Platter meal will be served. It will include barbecued roast beef, mashed potatoes, multiple side dishes, and apple crisp for dessert.

At 7:00 p.m., Chick Wilfong, who calls himself "a cowboy humorist and mischievous offender of rules," will provide the evening's entertainment.

Wilfong is a fourth-generation ranch-raised gentleman currently from Texas who has worked in Ag Construction and has a passion for roping, telling jokes, and making people smile. "I was raised by and surrounded by great cowboys and good people," he said. With those ingredients and pleasures, he considers his life glamorous enough.

Rech credits Justin Locke with MFU for doing the groundwork on the evening's entertainment. "This isn't really a fundraiser for us," Rech said. "We just wanted to promote agriculture, so we like to get involved with events like the Producer Conference for that reason."

Any individuals wishing to attend the entertainment portion of the Beef N Brews Event but not the meal can pay a separate fee for Chick Wilfong's act and should plan to arrive just prior to 7:00 p.m. MSUN students with a valid student id will be admitted free of charge.

The MSUN Collegiate Stockgrowers is a committee within the Montana Stockgrowers Association (MSGA) designed to develop collegiate students into tomorrow's leaders. It provides students with the opportunity to learn more about legislative process and to have a voice in their industry. Collegiate Stockgrowers serves as an avenue for collegiate members with an interest in agriculture to express their concerns in an effort to assist in the development of MSGA policy. With programs that directly affect the ranching community of the next generation and significant networking opportunities, Collegiate Stockgrowers provides the chance for tomorrow's leaders to be involved today.

"To raise money, we sell work crews for brandings, for example," Rech said. "And to promote agriculture, we like to visit ag classrooms or FFA groups, using those visits as a both an educational and a recruiting tool. We also perform livestock judging."

For more information on the Beef N Brews Event, interested persons are encouraged to call Rech at 605-850-9886.

On Saturday, January 26, Day Two of the MFU Conference will open at 9:00 with John Walker. Walker lives in Nashua and works with Farmers Business Network (FBN). He grew up in an agriculture background south of Livingston and attended Montana State University-Bozeman to study Agricultural Business where he networked with both farmers and ranchers. "I accepted the position with FBN because of the truth and optionality tools the company gives to farmers. FBN works to provide data analytics from a world trial based on millions of acres of data. They also showcase and decipher different aspects in agriculture such as input purchasing and crop marketing," Walker said. "I will be sharing some of these optionality tools with the audience at the Conference," he added.

Following Walker's workshop, Corbitt Wall will present on Cattle Markets and Futures. Corbitt received a bachelor's degree in Ag Business and Economics, plus a master's degree in Agriculture from West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. Upon graduation, he started an 18-year career with the USDA's Ag Marketing Service and carved a niche in feeder cattle market reporting as the author of the weekly National Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary. In 2014, Wall accepted a position with DV Auction as their Commercial Cattle Manager and Livestock Market Analyst.

Just prior to lunch, Keith Horton, a Senior Trial Agronomist for Cargill, will talk about the company's Omega 3s Canola Oil Project. Through the project, Cargill is determining which canola hybrids grow best in the various farming regions.

After lunch, during which the MFU will award its 2018 scholarships, Curt Pate will close the Conference with a Cattle Handling Clinic. Pate will share knowledge gained through his experiences as both a good and a bad stockman.

"When I give a demo or talk publicly about dealing with animals, all of the great influences of my past are a part of it. This is a huge responsibility, and I don't take it lightly," Pate said.

Pate's best advice comes from the saying, 'Be quick, but don't hurry!' "When we think we are in a hurry, we act like we are in a hurry, and when we are in a hurry, it can increase the chance of a problem occurring," he stated.

Jess Peterson, with the USCA will present at the 2019 MFU Producer Conference on hot topics like Fake Meat and Electronic Logging Devices. As part of the Montana Farmers Union Producer Conference,

Interested individuals can register for the MFU Conference online at https://www.active.com/havre-mt/workshops/mfu-producer-conference-2019 or by calling the Montana Farmers Union office in Great Falls at 406-452-6406.

 
 

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