The audio portion may be downloaded to your computer, iPod, iPad or other device by clicking on the download mp3 button. The file will be downloaded as a compressed zip file which can be uncompressed with WinZip (PC) or by double clicking on the file (Mac). Please Note embedded audio player may not work in Google Chrome™.
February 2017-Part 1-What to expect from the Trump administration
The United States, indeed the whole world, wasn’t quite sure what to expect when Donald Trump took the oath of office of perhaps the most powerful nation in the world. Now, with Trump’s first few months in office behind him, the picture is becoming a little clearer.
In this four-part series, the Beef Roundtable takes a look at some of the main issues that the Trump administration and the U.S. will face. In Part 1, we look at what we can expect from the Trump administration in the coming months.
Our first guest is Steve Dittmer, who has nearly 30 years’ experience in management, marketing, and communications in the beef industry. Currently, Steve is the executive vice president of the Agribusiness Freedom Foundation, which provides information and analysis for food chain participants
Our second guest is Jay Truitt, a longtime Washington insider and principal in the organization Policy Solutions; Motley, Scher, Truitt, a bipartisan government relations and public affairs firm. Jay has served as vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and CEO and executive vice president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and the Missouri’s Cattlemen Foundation.
February 2017-Part 2- What's in store for GIPSA in the Trump era?
Now that we are 100 days into the Trump administration, will the GIPSA rule finally see it's death?
In this four-part series, the Beef Roundtable takes a look at some of the main issues that the Trump administration and the U.S. will face. In Part 2, we look at what the possible future of the GIPSA rule might be and the chances that it will be implemented.
Our first guest is Steve Dittmer, who has nearly 30 years’ experience in management, marketing, and communications in the beef industry. Currently, Steve is the executive vice president of the Agribusiness Freedom Foundation, which provides information and analysis for food chain participants
Our second guest is Jay Truitt, a longtime Washington insider and principal in the organization Policy Solutions; Motley, Scher, Truitt, a bipartisan government relations and public affairs firm. Jay has served as vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and CEO and executive vice president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and the Missouri’s Cattlemen Foundation.
Play Audio File
February 2017-Part 3- Farm bill hurdles for Sonny Perdue
Secretary of Agriculture won't be an easy job for Sonny Perdue. The newly appointed Perdue will face the upcoming hurdle of developing and ultimately passing a Farm Bill in 2018.
The United States, indeed the whole world, wasn’t quite sure what to expect when Donald Trump took the oath of office of perhaps the most powerful nation in the world. Now, with Trump’s first few months in office behind him, the picture is becoming a little clearer.
Our first guest is Steve Dittmer, who has nearly 30 years’ experience in management, marketing, and communications in the beef industry. Currently, Steve is the executive vice president of the Agribusiness Freedom Foundation, which provides information and analysis for food chain participants
Our second guest is Jay Truitt, a longtime Washington insider and principal in the organization Policy Solutions; Motley, Scher, Truitt, a bipartisan government relations and public affairs firm. Jay has served as vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and CEO and executive vice president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and the Missouri’s Cattlemen Foundation.
Play Audio File
February 2017-Part 4- Immigration Reform
Lofty promises, but could we actually see immigration reform?
Industry experts look at the contentious issue of immigration reform and what possible actions President Trump may take to fulfill his campaign promises. Part four of a four-part series.
The United States, indeed the whole world, wasn’t quite sure what to expect when Donald Trump took the oath of office of perhaps the most powerful nation in the world. Now, with Trump’s first few months in office behind him, the picture is becoming a little clearer.
Our first guest is Steve Dittmer, who has nearly 30 years’ experience in management, marketing, and communications in the beef industry. Currently, Steve is the executive vice president of the Agribusiness Freedom Foundation, which provides information and analysis for food chain participants
Our second guest is Jay Truitt, a longtime Washington insider and principal in the organization Policy Solutions; Motley, Scher, Truitt, a bipartisan government relations and public affairs firm. Jay has served as vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and CEO and executive vice president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and the Missouri’s Cattlemen Foundation.
March 2017-Beef Demand and What it Means to the Beef Industry
Today we will be talking with our guests about Beef Demand and what it means to the beef industry.
Our first guest is Dawn Caldwell. Dawn grew up in South Central Nebraska on a diversified farm that included a commercial Angus cow-calf herd. She and her husband have a cow-calf operation and are parents of two, both of whom are students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In addition to the cow-calf herd, they background their calves in preparation for their trip to a feedyard. Active in both 4-H and FFA, Dawn has served on the Nebraska Beef Council, Nebraska Farm Bureau, and on the NCBA Federation Executive Committee.
Our second guest is Glynn Tonsor, a professor in ag economics at Kansas State University in Manhattan. His current efforts are devoted to Extension activities and research in a broad range of beef and cattle areas, from production-level supply issues to consumer demand issues. His research and thoughts are often quoted in the livestock media and he’s spoken at a number of industry events.
BRT_March_2017 from Scott Radcliffe on Vimeo.
April 2017-The Devastating Wild Fires Close-up
Our topic for today’s Beef Roundtable is a look back at the devastating wildfires that consumed well over a million acres of ranchland in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado.
Our first guest is Dr. Randall Spare, president of Ashland Veterinary Center in Ashland, Kansas. Randall is a graduate of K-State’s School of Veterinary Medicine. At AVC, he focuses on bovine care, especially cow-calf production. Through dedication and teamwork, AVC has become the largest veterinary practice in southwest Kansas. Ashland was ground zero for the wildfires in Kansas and Oklahoma and Randall and his staff did truly heroic work during and after the fires.
Our second guest is Matt Perrier with Dalebanks Angus in Eureka, Kansas. The ranch and the Perrier families were among the many who helped lend a hand to fire victims. Matt spent several days on the ground during the wildfires helping burned-out ranchers, and worked with the Kansas Livestock Foundation to raise awareness for the need for donations of supplies and money.
Dalebanks Angus is a fifth-generation ranch nestled in the southern Flint Hills of Kansas. The operation runs nearly 500 registered Angus females. 200 yearling and coming two-year-old bulls. Since Bert Barrier brought the first Angus to Dalebanks in 1904, the ranch’s mission has been to produce genetics that add profit to the beef community. In addition to typical ranch duties, Matt also manages the breeding, marketing and customer service operations at Dalebanks.
May 2017-The Emotional Scars left behind by the Recent Wildfires
Our topic for today’s Beef Roundtable is a look back at the devastating wildfires that consumed well over a million acres of ranchland in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado.
But unlike our April edition, which looked at the effect of the wildfires on the land and cattle, we’re going to delve into a topic that many cattle producers might find difficult to discuss, but is essential to address in the aftermath of a disaster like wildfires, blizzards, tornadoes or similar events.
And that’s the effect those disasters have on the emotional and mental health of those who are affected. And those effects can be serious.
Our first guest today is Dr. Curt Drennen, Community Outreach Branch Supervisor within the Operations Section of the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response. Dr. Drennen is a licensed psychologist and has been working in the area of behavioral health disaster planning and response since 2002. He works in partnership with a diverse stakeholder group to improve the State’s capacity to respond to the psychosocial impact of disaster and public health emergencies. He has 23 years of experience in the fields of mental health and psychology, particularly in the areas of crisis intervention and behavioral health disaster management.
In addition, we are joined by David Clawson, a rancher near Englewood, Kansas and president of the Kansas Livestock Association.
David is a fourth-generation rancher and farmer with ownership interests in various family partnerships. The Clawson Ranch Partnership, with his brother, Dan, includes a cow-calf business and an irrigated and dryland farming operation.
David and his brother were not only personally affected by the March wildfires, but he has visited with many of the burned-out ranchers to help them recover both physically and emotionally from the disaster. In addition, David has done numerous media interviews on how the fires have affected not just him personally, but how others are dealing with the event and its aftermath.
BRT_May_2017 from Scott Radcliffe on Vimeo.
August 2017-Natural disasters happen. Here’s how you can deal with them
Natural disasters are an unfortunate part of making your living from the land. But when the weather turns violent, it can leave emotional scars every bit as deep as the damage it does to livestock, barns, houses and working facilities. In the third of a three-part series, the Beef Roundtable looks at how ranchers can help each other and themselves deal with the emotional after-effects of nature’s violent side.
This edition of the Beef Roundtable, the third in a series, we continue our conversation about how ranchers who are affected by natural disasters can recover financially. In addition, we’ll further delve into the mental and emotional aspects of recovery.
Our guests are Jess Wall, a loan officer with Plains Land Bank in Perryton, Texas, and Dr. James Jordan, a psychiatrist and past medical director of the Hamm Psychiatric Clinic in Saint Paul, Minn.
In addition to being an ag lender, Jess Wall manages his family’s farm and ranch, something he’s done since he was 20 years old. Part of his 6,000-acre ranch was burned in the wildfires this March. So, speaking from both sides of the fence, Jess updates you on how ranchers can recover financially from not just the recent wildfires, but what they need to plan for should they be affected by any sort of a natural disaster.
Dr. Jordan was president of the Minnesota Psychiatrists’ Psychiatric Society in 2010 and is the psychiatry representative to the Minnesota State Advisory Committee Council on Mental Health. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Twin Cities Medical Society Foundation. He is co-producer and co-host with Mary Hanson of both Understanding Depression, Hope Through Treatment and Understanding Depression: The Suicide Connection.
BRT_July_2017 from Scott Radcliffe on Vimeo.
September 2017-The National Beef Quality Audit
If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. That quote by Peter Drucker is as true today as it was when first uttered. That’s especially true in the beef business.
That’s why the National Beef Quality Audit has been such an important program for beef producers. Starting 25 years ago, the results of the audit, conducted every five years, have shown beef producers where they are excelling and where they still need to improve in producing high quality beef for consumers worldwide.
Our first guest is Dr. Dan Kniffen, a beef producer and beef cattle extension specialist from Pennsylvania State University. Dan serves as Chairman of the National Beef Quality Assurance Advisory Board and was a key leader in the latest National Beef Quality Audit.
Our second guest is Dr. Deb VanOverbeke, a meat scientist from Oklahoma State University and one of the principle investigators for the last 2 National Beef Quality Audits.
October 2017-Estate planning: It’s more than just a will
Passing on the farm or ranch to the next generations isn’t as easy as it used to be, but with the proper tactics, it can still be done. This edition of the Beef Roundtable explores the ins and outs of how to keep the ranching heritage alive.
Estate and succession planning is a topic that every farm, ranch, and family business needs to take seriously. Passing the farm and ranch heritage is a privilege, but it comes with challenges of careful planning to ensure smooth and sustainable transition. In agriculture, we have many things that we cannot control, such as the weather and prices, but we do have control over one thing – the future of our family business.
This edition of the Beef Roundtable explores the ins and outs of proper estate planning with Cari Rincker and Paige Pratt.
Cari Rincker is owner of Rincker Law PLLC, a national general practice law firm concentrating in food and agriculture law with offices in New York and Illinois. She has deep roots in agriculture growing up on a purebred Simmental operation in Illinois and gaining both a B.S. degree at Texas A&M and M.S. in ruminant nutrition from the University of Illinois before going to law school.
Paige Pratt earned a BS in animal science, an MS in educational leadership, both from Kansas State University, and a PhD in animal science from Texas Tech. She and her husband own and operate Pratt Cattle Company, a purebred Angus cattle operation in Virginia and she has personally experienced a family farm transition. Paige is a nationally recognized speaker on not only this topic, but also other thought-provoking, fun and engaging ag related topics.
October_BRT_2017 from Scott Radcliffe on Vimeo.
November 2017-BQA: Moving the beef business forward
One of the most successful and enduring programs that has helped beef producers in their quest to produce the quality beef that consumers demand is the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program. Here’s a look at past success and what the future holds.
Consumers demand the very best of what beef producers have to offer. They want the best quality, they want to know that the beef they buy is safe, and they want to know that it was raised with the highest standards of animal welfare. The Beef Quality Assurance program, established nationally in 1987, does that and more.
This edition of the Beef Roundtable explores the successful past of the BQA program and what the future may hold with Ron Gill and Josh White.
Consumers demand the very best of what beef producers have to offer. They want the best quality, they want to know that the beef they buy is safe, and they want to know that it was raised with the highest standards of animal welfare. The Beef Quality Assurance program, established nationally in 1987, does that and more.
This edition of the Beef Roundtable explores the successful past of the BQA program and what the future may hold with Ron Gill and Josh White.
Related: 4 Rules for Following BQA Guidelines When Culling Cows
Ron Gill is a popular presenter on low-stress animal handling. He is a professor and Extension livestock specialist for Texas AgriLife Extension. In addition, he serves as associate department head and program leader for Extension in the Department of Animal Science. Josh White serves as executive director of producer education for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Josh and his team work to make the Beef Quality Assurance, Stockmanship & Stewardship and Cattlemen’s College programs deliver even greater value to NCBA members and the cattle industry. He’s a fourth generation beef producer and continues to own cattle on his family’s farm in Georgia.
BRT_Nov_2017_BQA from Scott Radcliffe on Vimeo.
December 2017-The serious side of being funny
Being funny is one thing. Doing it for a living is something else.
The Beef Roundtable spends most of the year dealing with serious topics like disasters, succession planning and how the political landscape is affecting our businesses. However, with the holiday season, we thought we would lighten things up on this month’s program and explore the humorous side of agriculture.
Welcome to the holiday edition of the Beef Roundtable. Our guests are two velry funny guys, both of whom are farmers and ranchers in addition to being comics.; And, as you’d expect, they’re very good at seeing the funny side of agriculture.
Our first guest is Damian Mason, an entertaining and informative speaker with a message for the people of agriculture. Like many children of agriculture, he was involved in FFA and was a 10-year 4-H member. Damian has a degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University. He has also studied comedy writing and improvisation at The Second City in Chicago. When he’s not traveling for work, Damian can be found on his Indiana farm with his wife Lori, or escaping from winter at their Arizona residence.
Our second guest is Tim Moffett, who is not a politician or a salesman. And he’s definitely not a motivational speaker. Tim has been partners for 30 years with his brother in a dairy farm as well as a cow-calf beef operation in Florida. For the last 16 years, Tim has been a stand-up comedian. Tim travels the U.S. and Canada performing stand-up comedy at all types of agriculture-related events, conventions and county fairs. Tim writes a monthly humorous column in Progressive Dairyman magazine rightfully named “The Manure Spreader.”
December BRT_FINAL from Scott Radcliffe on Vimeo.