Northwest Iowa — While the election may be over, northwest Iowa cattle producers and friends of the industry still have a chance to exert influence on the issues that matter to them, when the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association holds their inaugural Iowa Cattle Industry Leadership Summit next month.
According to the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association,the summit, which will be held on December 10 in Ames, will have sessions devoted to leadership development for cattle producers and ICA county cattlemen’s associations. The day will also feature policy committee meetings and the ICA annual meeting.
The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association says they have three policy committees: Beef Products, Business Issues and Cattle Production. The committee meetings are open to any ICA members, and will generate policy related to important topics in the cattle industry. These policies drive the efforts of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and are used by staff and leaders in discussions with local and national elected officials and regulatory agencies.
The ICA says policy discussions this year are expected to revolve around live cattle futures trading, market volatility, price discovery, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), foreign animal disease preparedness, protecting Iowa’s fence law, the green and gold tag preconditioning programs, and specific uses for the new state beef checkoff, if the referendum passes.
At the end of the day, ICA members will have a chance to ratify the policy developed in the committee meetings at the ICA annual meeting.
Thee Iowa Cattlemn’s Association says the day will also include the Iowa Beef Industry Council annual meeting and a complimentary lunch featuring the 2016 Iowa’s Best Burger from the Chuckwagon Restaurant in Adair.
There is no cost for area cattle producers to attend the Leadership Summit, but RSVPs are requested by November 29. Visit www.iacattlemen.org or call 515-296-2266 for more information.
