Join a Co-op, Amplify Your Voice
Published: Friday, September 22, 2023
The following is from Bruce Shultz, vice-president of the National Farmers Organization.
I've learned several important lessons in agriculture during my decades of farming experience. One important one is it's harder to go it alone than it is to be part of an agricultural group. My wife, Wendy, and I are members of several organizations, some based in agriculture, others not. We have found that having a collective voice gives us a better handle on what is going on in our local community, state and nation. Our agriculture memberships are important to us in our never-ending quest to stay profitable. Every group we belong to fits a different niche.
The group we are most involved with is National Farmers' Organization. We have been members since the day we purchased our first cows. National Farmers offers the tools we need to not just sell our animals, but market them for what they are truly worth. Whether it is calves that go to feedlots or culls going to slaughter, we sell together with our friends and neighbors. This gives us a larger say in the marketplace. By marketing our animals together, it allows us to split our steer and heifers into weight breaks that fit each calf correctly. This allows us to merchandise our animals more effectively, therefore maximizing our dollars. We receive more money per pound on 500-pound animals than we do on our 700-pounders. All our calves are sorted into load lots of like-size animals. No one buying 700-pound steers wants anything close to 500 pounds coming off the truck. Like most ranchers, we get one big check a year. It is nice to know that our friends are in the same mindset we are. As a group, we listen to many opinions, and there is always discussion before a deal is made. It feels satisfying when 15 ranchers are on the same page and all pulling together to make each of us successful financially.
We are also members of R-CALF. I have attended their national convention several times and our state National Farmers Organization has invited R-CALF speakers to our state meetings. R-CALF fits a niche that we could not afford to fill as individual ranchers. Their goal and purpose is to fight the large multi-national companies which dominate our food processing system. I have always been a proponent of Country-of-Origin Labeling. That is one of R-CALF's banner issues. The group brings together not just ranchers' voices but also their accumulative financial power as well. This allows our voices to be amplified. Alone, we never could have that much power.
Montana Farmers' Union is another group which we are deeply involved with. They fill another niche in our ranching life. Their big three issues are: cooperation, education and legislation. Wendy and I have been active in all of these segments. Like many states, Montana needs more livestock processing facilities. MFU addressed this need by starting a processing plant in Havre, Mont. The plant will work with the state university in Havre as they begin a meat processing curriculum. Wendy and I invested money toward the plant and are now members of the processing co-op, Montana Premium Processing. We have delivered some animals to that facility and we're glad they perform quality work at reasonable prices.
We are members of a few other ag groups, too, but National Farmers, R-CALF and Montana Farmers Union offer elements quite different from one another. Each has a role in allowing us to stay profitable and to keep involved in the ranching business. I do not know if we could be as successful as we are without being a member of these groups. Farmers really want to be a part of something, it is just that simple. No one likes going it alone. I encourage you to get involved in your area ag groups. Our voices only get louder when we use them together.
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