As I write this, I am finishing up a trip to San Diego, where I presented the beef industry’s long-range plan for 2026-2030. My participation on the long-range planning task force and my role as spokesperson are a small portion of the overall proceedings. One com- ment made during another’s presentation was that an industry business meeting feels a little weird when things are going this well. It feels like you are missing something. There is not a person out there who can complain about the state of the cattle market, espe- cially on the cow-calf side. We are even securing sig- nificant policy wins on the legislative side of things. Generally, there is nothing to complain about, though some still find a way. When developing the Beef Industry Long Range Plan, which began last December, it felt much the same way. The first beef industry LRP was in 1993, at a time when the beef industry was quickly losing market to pork and poultry. If something didn’t change, and fast, the loss of market share would be near impossi- ble to recover from. There was an obvious reason why the people were tasked to be in that room. Where the beef industry stands today is at the center of the con- sumer’s plate, and we are in the driver’s seat when it comes to maintaining that position. However, there is always room for improvement. As tempting as it may be, we can’t just sit there and write down “keep do- ing what we are doing.” A plan was developed and a framework established to guide decision-making DEVELOPING THE LONG RANGE PLAN From Newsletter 138 - July 2025
over the next half-decade. Things look very exciting for the industry moving forward, particularly for the many cow-calf producers reading this. Not only is the cow-calf producer in the driver’s seat when it comes to share of the profits, but the tools they now have at their disposal have them in a position to make signif- icant progress. Since I last published a newsletter, the American An- gus Association has released EPDs for teat, udder, and functional longevity. I first returned to the operation full-time in December of 2013. Some may remember that genomic testing had just begun. Many more will probably remember that widespread foot structure issues (primarily caused by single-trait terminal se- lection) were at the forefront of commercial cattle- men’s minds. Foot EPDs have been available for the entire population since 2019, and anyone who takes foot structure seriously has been able to address any issues. In the 12+ years I have been back to the oper-
12 TH ANNUAL FALL SALE | SMITHS GROVE, KY | OCTOBER 27, 2025 18
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