While the Nebraska territory had historically served as a market for beef headed east by rail, cattle ranching came to the state in the late 19th century as stockgrowers from Texas and other cattle producing regions began looking for additional open range for their herds. And with its abundance of forage and water, the vast grasslands of the Sand Hills in northcentral Nebraska provided an ideal environment for raising cattle. Representing the vital cattle industry is the role that the Cattlemen Association plays with success. A grass-roots, membership, advocacy and policy organization, governed by a Board of Directors, and committed to protecting the interests of Nebraska’s beef cattle producers as well as all other sectors of the cattle industry at the local, state, and federal levels. The association has about 3,500 members and represents 43 local affiliate associations across nine state regions. Its mission is to connect all the stakeholders in the cattle industry from “pasture to plate,” in order to best advocate for their policy goals. AN ALL-ENCOMPASSING ORGANIZATION “Something that sets Nebraska Cattlemen apart from other cattle associations in other states is that we have every segment of the industry,” says Libby Schaneman, Director of Communications and Federal Government Affairs. “We have producers, we have people who are involved in the cow/calf production side of the industry and those involved in the feeding industry. And we have our allied industry council for business people who are not working on a ranch, but own businesses that support our membership and are engaged with our policy making process.” “People on a national level watch our policy book and how our members and our association respond to policy issues, because we don’t just have input from our cow/calf side or our meat processors. We have input from everyone across every sector, which requires us all to come to the table and have important conversations, especially when different segments may not agree on some issues, and still find common ground.” “In our membership, we have six policy committees,” explains Executive Vice President, Laura Field. (Those committees are: Brand and Property Rights, Animal Health and Nutrition, Education and Research, Marketing and Commerce, Natural Resources and Environment, and Taxation.) “Every member has a reason to be engaged. Every member has a vote. We have an annual meeting and we say,‘If your voice is not being heard, it’s because you’re not at the table.’ We think that if you’re in the cattle business in Nebraska, you need to be at our table, bringing us your perspective. We don’t always see eye to eye on things, but it’s imperative for the success of the industry, as a whole, that we are all sitting there trying to come up with solutions.” THE ORG CHART Nebraska Cattlemen has about 10 staff members 93 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 10 THE NEBRASKA CATTLEMEN ASSOCIATION
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