[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 107 (Monday, June 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4654-S4655]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE REAL CHALLENGES OF RANCHING
Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, I rise today to submit for the record
a column written by Mr. Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the
Wyoming Stock Growers Association, entitled ``Magagna: The Real
Challenges of Ranching.'' The article was published on June 2 of this
year.
I recently spoke at the 2021 Wyoming Cattle Industry Convention and
Trade Show, ``Positioning Wyoming's Beef Industry for Success,'' hosted
by the 149-year-old Wyoming Stock Growers Association in Sheridan. This
convention focused on both the challenges and the opportunities that
producers have before them. Jim says it best: Some of these are just
simply challenging opportunities.
I urge my colleagues to stand with ranchers like Jim Magagna and the
ranchers that he represents. Stand with those who understand the land
best and not with extremists who do not know how to run a farm, a
ranch, or a small business.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Ranching in Wyoming begins with a dedicated, often multi-
generational, ranching family or a highly qualified dedicated
ranch manager. Beyond this foundation, success on an annual
basis is driven primarily by three factors--the weather, the
markets and the government. When two of these are positive,
most ranchers would describe their year as a ``success''. In
that rare year when all three factors are particularly
favorable, the seasoned rancher saves dollars in preparation
for the inevitable bad year.
[[Page S4655]]
2020, given the impacts of COVID, was a year of ``all of
the above'' and more. The daily chores and challenges of
operating the ranch continued. With livestock needing to be
fed, and calved or lambed there was no unemployment. While
others struggled to adjust to having their children home
doing remote learning, many ranchers just welcomed the extra
help from the kids. A major challenge was driving long
distances into town for supplies, only to find that many of
the needed items were not available.
Livestock markets crashed in the spring of 2020, but
returned to a more normal range by the time that most Wyoming
ranchers were facing fall marketing. Government policies were
stable and somewhat friendly toward agriculture. While some
areas of Wyoming experienced drought, most ranchers were able
to maintain their herds with some added supplemental feeding.
Federal payments through the CARES Act provided significant
relief for some. Looking back, two of the three factors could
be deemed to have been positive at some time during the year.
While the impacts of COVID have lessened, 2021 is evolving
as a much more challenging year for many Wyoming ranchers
than 2020 when assessed by the three factors. Drought clearly
rises to the top of concerns faced by producers across most
of the state. Northwestern Wyoming experienced good winter
snowfall and the very southeastern portion has had
significant spring moisture. However, the majority of Wyoming
is suffering from both a shortage of irrigation water and a
lack of soil moisture. As a result, we are seeing a worrisome
reduction in the number of summer pasture cattle coming into
the state as well as the sale of replacement heifers that had
been retained in the fall of 2020. This will have impacts on
production for at least the next several years.
The change in administrations in Washington, DC this year
has added another high level of uncertainty to Wyoming
ranching. While some degree of uncertainty accompanies any
political change, the rhetoric and fast-paced issuance of
Executive and Secretarial Orders by the current
administration has been particularly frightening. The
rhetoric that surrounds ``30 x 30'', ``Make America
Beautiful'', ``Climate Change'' and other initiatives to date
lacks any substantive detail to enable our assessment of how
it might affect Wyoming's agriculture industry.
Cattle market events in recent years have given cattle
producers both needed wake-up call and a new path forward.
Our beef marketing chain clearly has a bottleneck at the
processing level. This both increases risk when an event such
as COVID impacts a major facility, and concentrates market
control in too few hands. Consumer interest in buying local
and knowing where their food comes from has provided new
marketing opportunities for some producers. In the span of
two years Wyoming has gone from having only one federally
inspected processing facility to nine facilities either
operating or under construction. New larger facilities being
developed across the nation, including in Idaho and Nebraska,
will provide greater competition and lessen dependence on the
``Big Four'' U.S. beef processors. Efforts by the industry
and the Wyoming Business Council continue to attract larger
processors to Wyoming.
A discussion of ranching' s challenges would not be
complete without acknowledging the emergence of ``fake
meat''--both plant-based and lab-cultured products. While
these products have received tremendous publicity,
endorsement by celebrities and are now offered in some retail
establishments, they have not emerged as a threat to the
demand for high-quality beef and lamb.
Yes, ranching today is faced with significant emerging
challenges. Fortunately, these challenges are leading to
exciting new opportunities. Exploring these opportunities
will be the focus of the 2021 Wyoming Cattle Industry
Convention and Trade Show, ``Positioning Wyoming's Beef
industry for Success'' hosted by the 149 year-old Wyoming
Stock Growers Association in Sheridan June 2-4.
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