Annual R-CALF convention highlights global farming concerns

Aug 30, 2023

R-CALF USA successfully conducted its 24th convention in Rapid City, South Dakota. The event saw a 350-strong membership crowd and a whopping 2,000 online viewers via Cattle USA.

The organization plans to hold its next convention in June in Deadwood, South Dakota, enhancing its family appeal.

The spotlight this year was Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a Dutch journalist, who spoke on the global agenda to dominate the food sector by controlling farming. Using the Netherlands as a case study, she illustrated the negative consequences of silent compliance to overregulation by governments. Her message to American producers was clear: be proactive.

The USDA’s move to mandate RFID ear tags on cattle, hiking production costs, was a prime topic. Harriet Hageman is spearheading an initiative to counter this.

Globalism’s threat to domestic farming was emphasized by Tracy Hunt, indicating how groups like the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef might compromise domestic producers’ freedoms.

Senator Mike Rounds championed the cause for mandatory country of origin labeling (MCOOL). With bipartisan support, there's hope for its inclusion in the 2023 Farm Bill.

A significant concern raised was the decline of the U.S. sheep industry, attributed to rampant imports. This puts national food security in jeopardy, with 74% of lamb consumption based on imports.

The “No Rancher Left Behind” initiative by R-CALF USA aims to provide mental support for struggling producers.

Source : wisconsinagconnection

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.