For Dave Hyde, the path to leading one of the nation’s producer-led cattle organizations began far from the vast stretches of the West or the policy tables of the Capitol. It started in the hills of eastern Ohio, where he runs a cow-calf operation about 60 miles west of Pittsburgh, PA.
“I actually started out milking cows for neighbors,” Dave told WLJ. “I worked in the Dairy Herd Improvement Association—one of the best jobs I ever had—but like everything else in ag, there wasn’t any money in it.”
To make ends meet, he joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and spent 35 years in construction before retiring in 2015. But agriculture never left him. In the late 1990s, Dave began improving his family’s farm through grants from the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program and purchased cattle from a neighbor.
“The first cattle I started with were half Holstein, half Angus,” Dave said. “I bought them from a buddy who bred his heifers to Angus bulls back then.”
That modest beginning led him to the Buckeye Quality Beef Association, an affiliate of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America (R-CALF). When an R-CALF regional director retired, then-president Gerald Schreiber called to ask if Dave would fill the vacancy.
“At the time, my mom was sick, and I said no, and he said, ‘I’ll give you a couple of weeks,’” Dave said. “So, he called back, and again, I said, ‘I don’t think so.’ He said, ‘Listen, just try it out.’”
After five years as a regional director, Dave was elected president of R-CALF in 2025, following South Dakota rancher Brett Kenzy’s term limit.
Leadership wasn’t new to Dave. During his years in construction, he supervised more than a hundred workers on major projects. That experience translated naturally into his work at R-CALF, where he’s helping shape policy for the nation’s independent cattle producer members.
When he joined the board, he quickly learned the importance of active participation. “I used to be scared to fly,” Dave admitted. “But I finally decided if I was going to represent producers, I needed to show up. Now, I can hop on a plane anytime.”
That same determination carried into his presidency. Whether attending the Black Hills Stock Show or fielding calls from members across the country, Dave makes himself available. “Any one of our directors could step into my shoes,” he said. “That’s the kind of people we have. Each one takes their job seriously.”
Voice for independent producers
Dave describes R-CALF as “the cattle industry’s grassroots defense team.” He draws a clear distinction between representing cattle producers versus the beef industry.
“We represent the cattle industry, not the beef industry,” he said. “That’s tough for some people to digest, but they’re not the same.”
Dave knows the challenges are steep—drought, high input costs and fewer producers every year—but he remains optimistic.
“Ten years ago, I was a nobody,” he said. “Now I get to work with the greatest bunch of people in the cattle industry. If I can make a positive impact, that’s what matters.”
For young ranchers, his advice is simple: get involved.
“If you’re serious about this industry, you’ve got to belong to a group,” Dave said. “I don’t care which one, just pick the one that aligns with your values and join. The more voices we have, the more we can get done.”
Fight for fair markets
Under Dave’s leadership, R-CALF continues to push for policies that promote transparency, fairness and independence within the U.S. cattle industry. Chief among these is mandatory country-of-origin labeling (MCOOL), which he believes is essential for both producers and consumers.
“We’ve been preaching MCOOL since it first passed,” Dave said. “It was funded, repealed and now we’re fighting to bring it back. We believe it creates competition,because consumers can see where their beef comes from. If the U.S. consumer wants USA beef, the packers will have to provide it.”
Dave stresses that most policy change starts with simple education—for consumers and policymakers.
“You’d be surprised how many people still think every package with a USDA sticker means it’s U.S. beef,” he said. “Once they realize that’s not true, they’re shocked—and they want to see labeling come back.”
R-CALF supports Rep. Harriet Hageman’s (R-WY-At large) bill to restore MCOOL. “We’re behind it 100%,” Dave said. “The labeling issue isn’t just about patriotism, it’s about market fairness.”
Despite his populist stance, Dave isn’t opposed to international trade. “I’m not saying we don’t need imported beef to mix with our trim,” he said. “But there have to be tariff-rate quotas. If they go over a certain amount, tariffs should apply. We need to protect domestic producers first.”
He’s equally vocal about the lamb industry’s decline. “We’ve lost about 85% of the U.S. lamb sector,” Dave said. “R-CALF supports tariff-rate quotas on lamb imports, too. We can’t let another livestock industry disappear.”
Regarding the Beef Checkoff, Dave said R-CALF’s goal isn’t elimination, but reform. “We believe the money should be taken away from any organization that employs lobbyists,” he explained. “For example, the North American Meat Institute—now called the Meat Institute—receives checkoff funds but comes out against nearly everything cattle producers want, from the PRIME Act to MCOOL. That’s not promoting beef; that’s promoting policy.”
Building local processing
While R-CALF often makes headlines for its national advocacy, Dave keeps a close eye on challenges at the grassroots level, especially the need for more local and regional processing capacity.
“There are a lot of people starting to buy beef directly from farmers, which is great,” he said. “But the lead time to get into a slaughter facility is still about six months.”
Dave would like to see the revival of grant programs that support small, federally inspected harvest plants. But he’s seen firsthand how public opposition can stall progress. Dave believes local processing is key to restoring competition.
“The Big Four packers control too much,” he said. “If we had more regional plants, we could capture more value at home and keep dollars in our communities.”
Dave still calls himself a “first-generation cow-calf guy.” But from his pastures in Ohio to the broader national stage, he’s helping define what the next generation of independent cattle producers will look like: grounded in hard work, transparency and a belief that the people who raise America’s beef deserve a fair shot in the marketplace. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
