It's a hard time to be an American cattle rancher. When we started this podcast, we wanted these episodes to be real and raw conversations about the things happening in our industry. Sometimes its hard to talk about those struggles ranchers are facing, but Karina sat down with Missouri rancher Coy Young to discuss the new No Rancher Left Behind campaign. 

Cattle producers around the country are feeling the squeeze as the cattle market fails to give them competitive prices for their cattle month after month. Why is the market like this? How do we improve it? We visited with Georgetown professor and economist Nathan Miller to discuss just that.  

Read Nathan Miller's ongoing study "Buyer Power in the Beef Packing Industry: An Update on Research in Progress": https://www.r-calfusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/220331-cattlemarkets.pdf

Vertical integration, consolidation, monopolies, all phrases and realities American ranchers are becoming very familiar with. In 2014, the Meat Racket hit bookshelves around the country and brought to light the monopoly-dominated structure of the American meat industry. We sat down with the author Christopher Leonard, to discuss his research, consolidation of the meat industry and how the industry has changed just 8 years later. 

Show Notes: 

-Listen to Leonard's 2021 Yale Antitrust Conference presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkZN3CMN8sc

-Read the Meat Racket: http://www.christopherleonard.biz/books/the-meat-racket.html

R-CALF USA's Weekly Address with Bill Bullard

Addressing MCOOL’s Bogeyman    

April 27, 2022

With the future of the American cattle industry hanging in the balance and the loss of over half a million cattle producers since 1980, it's clear something has to change. What can we do to help bring back profitability and the beauty of the American cattle industry? How can we learn from the downfalls of the hog and chicken industries? We sat down to talk current legislation, competition, vertical integration, and a changing cattle industry with generational Iowa cattle feeder and R-CALF USA Vice President Eric Nelson.  

R-CALF USA's Weekly Address with Bill Bullard 

What a Terrible Mess We're In

April 6, 2022

Antitrust is legislation preventing or controlling trusts or other monopolies and works to promote competition in business. In 2019, R-CALF USA filed a historic class-action lawsuit against the Big 4 meat packers. A prime example of how R-CALF USA is aggressive in all three branches of the United States government, but also a prime example of antitrust law at work.  Today we sit down with antitrust expert professor Thomas Horton to discuss Americanism and antitrust with a focus on the cattle industry. Professor Horton was the incredibly popular keynote speaker at the 2021 R-CALF convention, you’ll want to tune into this episode!  

Prof. Horton's 2021 Convention presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrIGwQpOdAI&t=914s

Today it is becoming more and more common for kids to not return to the ranch as adults. Why are kids not returning to the ranch? What are some of the struggles young ranchers are facing? What are the next generation's thoughts on hot button industry topics like the checkoff? Why should young ranchers be involved in the conversation? We answer these questions and more with two young ranchers, Clare and Patrice. 

R-CALF USA's Weekly Address with Bill Bullard 

Food Fight: Academicians at Odds

March 9, 2022

One of the greatest powers we have as American citizens is the power to elect those who represent us on a local, state and national level. Our government being for the people, by the people we also have the power to be citizen lobbyists for ourselves and our neighbors to encourage those elected officials to support or not support various issues that affect our communities. On today’s episode, we talk to Jim Selchert of South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds’ office on how to be a citizen lobbyist and how you can affect the laws and discussions happening on a national level.