Posts Tagged ‘South Korea’
You Gotta Fight for Your Rights…
By: Michelle
Well maybe not literally fight, but definitely speak up for what you believe in and let people know how passionate you really are about it. The annual Spring Legislative Conference in Washington D.C. gives cattlemen and cattlewomen the opportunity to learn about legislative issues being discussed on the Hill and what they can do get their voice heard.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to hear from various speakers that work in different parts of the government here in the nation’s capital, including the Secretary of Agriculture from the USDA, Ed Schafer. After speaking and answering a few questions, we as a team had the opportunity to meet up with him outside the hall we were in and get a couple quick pictures as well as talk with him for a minute or two about what we were up to as National Beef Ambassadors.
In the afternoon we made a couple of agency visits, including the Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS), Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Here we got the “low-down” on what issues these agencies were dealing with that were directly affecting out industry. Experts from each agency talked with us and told what they were doing for us and we had an opportunity at the end of each session to ask questions, many of them focusing on issues affecting our respective states. So after yesterday’s full schedule of issues briefings, we were ready to take our case to the Hill and talk with our state legislators. Since each of us Beef Ambassadors come from different states, we said adieu and headed off with our fellow state cattlemen to talk to our local representatives.
I’m proud to say that California was well represented and had a strong delegation of about 25 people at the Capitol. We ended up spliting up into teams and each team visited 4-5 legislators to discuss the issues that were on our minds. I had the privelege of being with our California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) President Bruce Hafenfeld, CCA Executive Vice President Matt Byrne, NCBA Region 6 Representative Rachel Aja and Young California Cattlemen’s President Ryan Nelson.
We had a dynamic team and we had the opportunity to talk with House Representatives Jim Costa, Devin Nunes, and Dan Lungren as well as our Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. Here we discussed 5 main issues that affected our state and our livelihoods: Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with South Korea & Colombia, the Clean Water Act/Reformation Act, 2007 Farm Bill, Country of Origin Labeling (COOL), and where we stand in the Hallmark/Westland Beef Recall issue. All of the legislators were receptive to what we had to say and for the most part supported where we stand on these issues. After our meetings, we had a reception in one of the House of Representatives buildings inviting all legislators and their staff to come and mingle, relax, and munch on some tasty beef.
So far the conference has been a huge success and I know I’ve certainly learned a lot. We’ve got another full day tomorrow so I will try to keep you all updated on what’s going on. I’m trying to update my photo album as I go, so keep checking back for new photos from the experience!
