IARN — Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) staff want to hear from members and non-members during this challenging time.
“Don’t be afraid to contact us,” shares Katie Olthoff, ICA senior director of communications and membership. Iowa Cattlemen’s Association staff invite producers to participate in a weekly call. Each call includes: A summary of ICA efforts, industry news, as well as an oppourtunity for members to offer input.
“There are four different times they can get on the phone with us each week. They can hear an update from us, as well as share their concerns, what they’re hearing in the countryside, and things like that,” Olthoff said. “This has (kept) us informed, (especially) when we are going to advocate on their behalf.”
Olthoff says these calls provide a “great sense of community.” The open dialogues also offer support to many producers who face challenging situations.
ICA staff also strive to keep their members up-to-date on the situation at hand, which changes rapidly. They are doing this through their new Iowa Cattlemen’s Association podcast.
“We’ve been putting episodes out weekly. Again, (we) wanted to get timely information out to people in a way that is a little bit easier for them to consume. As you know, people like to listen to information,” Olthoff said.
You can access the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or by visiting www.iacattlemen.org. Olthoff gives producers a taste of topics covered in recent episodes.
“We’ve been doing interviews with industry experts,” Olthoff said. “We talked to market analyst Cassie Fish last week. This week’s episode has Dr. Derrell Peel in it. (We’ve) also done an interview with the Iowa Banker’s Association, talking about opportunities for producers through their lenders. (We) did another interview on mental health and stress management that will air in this week’s podcast.”
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
