Cattle Callcoloica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CICA-Newsletter... · 2020-06-24 · Martin Canterbury Canon City, CO (719) 469-0390 (719)469-3079 [email protected].

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Cattle Call Vol. 15, Issue 2 Summer 2020

Board of Directors

PresidentCurt WernerMerino, CO (970) 522-8822 [email protected]

Vice PresidentJohn BeatyIgnacio, CO (970) 883-2277 [email protected]

SecretaryTom Hendrix, District 2 Director Wray, CO (970) 332-4364 [email protected]

TreasurerAdam NussKarval, CO (719) 446-5428 [email protected]

District 1 Director Leellen KoroulisSteamboat Springs, CO (970) [email protected]

District 2 DirectorKorry LewisJohnstown, CO(307) [email protected]

District 3 Directors Martin CanterburyCanon City, CO (719) 469-0390 (719) [email protected]

District 4 DirectorsAaron KravigKarval, CO (719) 384-4893 [email protected]

District 5 Directors Marie BondsDurango, CO (970) 259-3950 [email protected]

District 6 DirectorsJerry WinfordBranson, CO (719) 859-7233 [email protected]

Barb LeiningerLa Junta, CO (719) 469-9634 [email protected]

Past PresidentsCody JollyHugo, CO (719) 740-1031 [email protected]

Lorene BondsDurango, CO (970) 259-3950 [email protected]

R-CALF USA GIVES UPDATE ON LITIGATION

At the CICA board meeting on Tuesday, May 26, Bill Bullard (R-CALF CEO) gave the board an update on R-CALF's current court cases.

1. RFID Lawsuit: The Court initially dismissed this suit on the groundsthat the government voluntarily withdrew the proposed RFID lawsand therefore did not violate any laws. R-CALF protested, saying theAdvisory Committee (which advised the court's dismissal) was hand-picked and therefore in violation of the Federal Advisory CommitteeAct. R-CALF was allowed to file an amended complaint. Thegovernment is preparing an Administrative Record which they wouldcompare with USDA's records. A Freedom of Information Act(FOIA) was requested, and the government is currently responding tothe FOIA request.

2. MCOOL: The case is currently in the 9th Circuit Court of Appealsand the brief for each party is not due in the court until August.

3. Anti-Trust Case (Packer Collusion): This case is in the "motion-to-dismiss" phase. Right now the court is trying to determine if R-CALF's claim is legally valid and if they should move forward withthe case. There will be a hearing on June 8th to determine if the courtwill dismiss the case or not.

The main cry of opposers to MCOOL is that it would violate the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement between Canada, the US and Mexico. R-CALF is preparing a white paper that would explain how we can implement cool without violating the WTO agreement.

The Packers purchase cattle in two ways, by contract or through the Cash Market (salebarns, feedlots without contracts). South Dakota U.S. Senators Grassley and Tester have introduced an MCOOL bill that would require packers to purchase at least 50% of their cattle from the cash markets, which would thereby not give preference to contracted cattle. When the hog industry integrated in the 80's, the packers went strictly to contracted hogs and would not buy from the cash market, causing it to collapse.

The government does have the authority to order the packers to buy at least 50% of their cattle from the cash market, but many doubt if the government will exercise this authority.-Andee Leininger, Newsletter Editor.

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CALL TO ACTIONCICA is putting out a call to members who are interested in joining our newly formed Membership Committee. This is a voluntary committee that would be dedicated to working on ways to retain current members and recruit new members. If anyone is interested, please contact Andee Leininger, Newsletter Editor, at 719-469-1552 (text or call) or e-mail her at [email protected]. Anyone who is interested is also encouraged to meet at Convention.

COLORADO LEGISLATURE CONSIDERS SOME BILLS, DITCHES SOME

Kathleen Curry, the lobbyist CICA hired to lobby for the Misbranding Meat Bill, spoke to the board at their last meeting about current events at the Capitol.

The House and Senate reconvened on May 26 after taking a hiatus for COVID-19. There are technically 52 days left in which they could meet, but both groups want to meet for 21 days and be done with this legislative session. As expected, the state has seen millions of dollars in losses due to the shutdown, and the budget is the most pressing issue at the Capitol.

The legislature would like to only consider 50% of the bills which had not been presented at the time of the shutdown, and shelve the rest. Therefore, each part of the legislature will only be considering non-partisan bills.

Kathleen has been working on a resolution that will pave the way for a bi-partisan misbranding meat bill next year. More information to come at Convention.

MEET THE NEW INTERN

Taylor Hendrix grew up on a black Angus cattle operation in northeastern Colorado between Wray and Holyoke. Her family also has a custom haying operation. In 2018-2019, Taylor was on the CO FFA State Officer team. She is currently earning her degree in Ag Business Management from Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture. Please stop and say hello to Taylor at Convention.

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BOD APPROVES INAUGURAL MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

CICA has been built with help and support from families with a passion for the independent ranching business and way of life. To that end we have created a memorial scholarship to attend the annual R-CALF convention. Three long time members that have left us in the last two years are the foundation for this scholarship. Bill Bledsoe of Hugo, Jay Jolly of Hugo, and Kimmi Lewis of La Junta are the members who were cornerstones for CICA and in whose honor we are creating this scholarship.

The scholarship is a little different from most in that it is intended to help a member of CICA and R-CALF USA get to national convention. This scholarship honors the three members who helped form CICA and also who believed in the work of R-CALF as their national organization. This award pays tribute to these members by aiding a young CICA member with financial support to attend the R-CALF convention with the goal of training and inspiring future leaders for CICA.

Requirements:1. Must be an R-CALF member 20-40 years old who has never attended R-CALF

convention.2. Must be a voting member of CICA.3. Applicants actively involved in some aspect of beef production will be given preference.4. Write a short essay (300 words or less) explaining why you joined R-CALF and why R-

CALF is important to you.5. Submit to Gerald Schreiber at email address: [email protected]. Deadline for submitting application is June 30.

Scholarship: One scholarship of $750, which pays for registration, room, and some travel The winner will be announced at CICA Annual Convention, July 17, 2020 R-CALF Convention is in Deadwood, South Dakota, August 19th-21st, 2020

Calendar and Events Page

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Monthly Board Meetings-Board meetings are held the 4th Tuesday of every month. If any of our membershave issues or concerns that they want to be addressed, they should contact theirDistrict Representative. The DR will be more than happy to discuss these concernsat the next board meeting.

In an effort to keep in touch with our members as well as educate the public and our policymakers, we recently renovated and expanded our web site. The address is the same:

www.coloica.com . CICA is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/coloica . AND we are excited about a totally new and improved email system which we just implemented. If you

would like to receive our email communications and they aren’t currently making it to your inbox, contact Sarah at [email protected]. If you are not getting a hard copy of the newsletter and would like one, just call or text Andee at 719-469-1552. Having just listed our latest communication efforts all involving technology, just know that we still prefer

sitting down over a cup of coffee with our members, discussing issues, proposing solutions and just getting to know one another.

- ANNUAL CONVENTION HAS CHANGED LOCATION. The CICA Annual Convention will be held at the Blue Cliff Community Building, located approximately 8 miles south of Karval at the crossroads of County Rd J and County Rd 29. It is approximately 9 miles east of Highway 71. The convention will be one day only, Friday, July 17th. Watch your mail for more information.

- R-CALF Annual Convention will be in Deadwood, SD on August 19th-21st. Visit https://www.r-calfusa.com/event/annual-convention/ for more information and to register.

- Tune in to 1010 KSIR every Thursday at 12:30PM to hear Bill Bullard discuss the latest R-CALF updates. Previous recordings are archived on the website.

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PRESIDENT'S LETTER

Fellow CICA Members,

There has never been a time when there is so much attention being focused on what has happened to our cattle and beef markets. Everything from Department of Justice investigations of the four major packers to lawsuits filed against these same corporations by retailers. Even some of the same organizations that have denied for decades that our markets are broken have finally admitted to the wrong that has happened.

Where CICA and R-CALF USA differ from these organizations is the belief that there needs to be changes made in some basic fundamentals that have haunted our industry for decades. Legislation that would require the big four packers to purchase at least fifty percent of their cattle in the cash market with a fourteen day delivery would alleviate some of damage done to fed cattle markets by captive supply cattle.

The largest single fallacy repeated to cattle producers for decades is that we are “partners” with these corporations. The term partner has, for many of us, the connotation of some sort of parity or equality. Nothing could be further from the truth. In May, producers received just fourteen percent of the retail beef dollar. That is by far the smallest percentage since that figure has been tracked and reported.

People often ask why they should join an organization like CICA. Over the past few months CICA has worked to steadily to get these messages out. Not only to fellow producers, but also consumers as well as our elected representatives. CICA represents only the interests of producers. It is also made up entirely of people willing to donate their time and money to save the cattle industry from the same fate as the pork and poultry industries. Due to the issues surrounding public gatherings we will be having an abbreviated convention at the Blue Cliffs Community Center on July 17. Details and reminders are forth coming. All support for our organization is much needed and appreciated.

Sincerely,

Curt Werner

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If any of our members have suggestions for article topics, or suggestions about the newsletter as a whole, please contact

the Newsletter Editor. Thank you!

Andee Leininger10 Elizabeth Ave

La Junta, CO 81050719-469-1552

[email protected]

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

For those of you who typically renew your membership in July, you can bring your renewal form and check to Convention. July renewals will be mailed out in June.

PRESIDENT ISSUES EO, PACKING PLANTS STAY OPEN

On April 28, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) telling the packing plants to stay open and continue processing beef. It took several weeks for the larger processing plants to reopen as they bended to pressure to reopen with COVID19 social distancing/cleanliness procedures in place. Smithfield Foods in South Dakota is open again, as is JBS in Greeley.

CONGRESS MAY WAIVE FED INSPECTIONS AT CUSTOM PROCESSORS

The 116th US Congress could waive federal inspections at custom meat processing plants. House Resolution (HR) 2859 was introduced to the House on May 21, 2019 and referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. On June 21, 2019 it was referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture. There are 46 cosponsors of the bill.

DOJ LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO PACKERS

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally made an inquiry for information from the four largest meatpackers. Civil investigative demands were sent to the meatpackers by the department's antitrust division. These investigative demands are similar to subpeonas. The four companies are: Tyson Foods, INC., JBS SA, Cargill Inc. and National Beef Inc. The Brazilian company Marfrig owns JBS and National Beef.