Happy New Year from Mariposa County! It is with great excitement as we move into this New Year, and I would like to take just a moment to visit with you about the upcoming opportunity that we have as cattle producers to cast our votes to approve the establishment of the California Cattle Council.
Back on Sept. 14, 2018, then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 965, which allows for the California Department of Food and Agriculture to hold a referendum vote for eligible producers in California to decide if they would like to self-assess themselves to create the California Cattle Council.
The council would allow California’s cattle producers opportunities to promote, educate and advance live cattle issues in our state as opposed to what is allowable under the California Beef Council (checkoff) mandate which is for the marketing and promotion of beef. If approved by a majority vote of eligible producers, the “Council” will open the doors for our state’s nearly 24,000 cattle producers (beef and dairy) to protect and defend our way of life.
The council’s subsequent formation would present the opportunity for producers to put the power of defining ourselves into our own hands as opposed to the scurrilous way we have been portrayed by radical activists seeking to distort beef and dairy cattle production and its producers in this state, depicting us as something less than honorable and as a business that should be eradicated. These militants continually try to control the narrative and define the role of what it is that we do. Given the opportunity, they would relish the chance to put an end to animal agriculture in California altogether.
The formation of the California Cattle Council gives us, as cattle producers, the opportunity to join together, and take on the fabrications, misrepresentations, and downright lies propagated by these radicals and convey a truthful and powerful message about cattle producers in this state. Our story is one of stewardship, responsibility, and trustworthiness that must be conveyed to our elected leaders, agency personnel, and, quite frankly, the over 39 million people who live here with us in California.
The Cattle Council can be an instrumental vehicle in getting this message out there. How? With revenue generated by the sale of qualified animals ($1/head and which is refundable to those producers not wishing to participate), it is estimated that we could put about $3,000,000 per year toward efforts to refute these baseless attacks. It could give our ranchers and dairymen not only an opportunity to go on the offensive to get our message out, but, with strength in numbers, it could also provide the financial horsepower to make these important messages resonate with elected leaders, agency personnel, and the public in general.
Think of the significant impact we could have on some of our elected officials if we were able to get Dr. Frank Mitloehner’s studies from University of California, Davis on, “Myths of Livestock Impact in Greenhouse Gases,” into their hands and then be able to get these leaders out on the dairies and ranches to see it in action and to be able to help them reconcile truth from myth or just unsupported allegations.
Imagine if we could put more “oomph” behind the narrative of showing the benefits of grazing and prescribed fire to the public and how these undertakings, in tandem, can help thwart devastating fires, all the while helping improve our rangelands from invasive or noxious plant species, improving our air and water quality, and enhancing open space.
How great would it be to educate the public on what the vast majority of producers do on their operations every day in their pursuits to provide their livestock with the best in care and welfare management? Our voluntary participation and adherence to programs like BQA and our investments into the best technology that helps us help our livestock is very important and needs to be communicated to all of California as well.
These are some of the benefits that we could realize by taking the step to approve the Cattle Council when you get your referendum ballot in the near future. I have always been an ardent supporter of our way of life and the tireless efforts and hours producers put into our herds and operations to create the safest and most nutritious beef and dairy products available.
I have often said that when it’s shipping time in the spring, we are incredibly proud of the animals we load onto those trucks. It makes our hearts swell with pride to reap those rewards, not only in the form of a paycheck, but in the awesomeness of having created something special that feeds and benefits so many, not only here in California, but around the world.
However, with all that being said, my proudest moments are seeing my kids saddled up with me and being a part of our family operation. It’s something bigger than just a job or a product—it’s the tradition, it’s the land, it’s the animals, but most of all it’s the people. It is our families, it is the right of passage from one generation to the next, and it is the pride and satisfaction of seeing it carry on and carry on well.
So, when you receive your Cattle Council Referendum ballot in the near future, I encourage you to think about the dollar you would spend per animal, not necessarily as just another business expense, but rather as an investment. This is an investment, not only into the future of animal agriculture in California, but most importantly into all of our families’ futures, honoring our legacy as ranchers and dairy producers, and positioning our family operations for what tomorrow brings.
This critical message, from us as producers about what we do, needs to be conveyed to the people of California not just once, but continually and we must be vigilant about it. The Cattle Council will help get that message to the right ears and will put us all in a better position to succeed. Please join me in supporting the California Cattle Council. — Tony Toso, California Cattlemen’s Association, first vice president
[Editor’s Note: According to information from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, referendum ballots were sent out through the mail beginning Feb. 21. The voting period extends through March 22.]
