by Rex Wilson.
Dear Fellow Members,
It was an honor to be one of “ag helpers” on the 2012 “Gate to Plate” Tour put together by the New Mexico Beef Council and your checkoff dollars.
To say that the trip was intense would be an understatement in terms of the hours that were put in. But we will be reaping the rewards of the efforts for years to come.
This year in addition to legislators, congressional staff and the media, the tour included chefs, restaurant owners healthcare professionals and leaders from the business community and food purveyors. The tour provided both heart-warming and heart-breaking stories almost in the same breath. While the Northeast region of the state is starting to turn green, the drought is taking its toll on the land, the livestock and our families. That green is enough to look good and give some hope.
The messages for the tour were clear — we are family businesses who care about the land and our animals. The land will be cared for even if it means selling the livestock that we have taken generations to perfect. Our members are investing time and money into projects that they know they will never see the full benefit of. But they hope their children and grandchildren will. We take great care of our animals to make sure that consumers have the best beef possible. Just because we live rurally doesn’t mean that we are not educated. We are a highly scientific industry and we are using the latest science and technology for the benefit of everyone involved in the food chain.
Finally we are a community no matter how many miles apart we live. There were 55 of us on the bus, but every meal included well over 100 people. The CowBelles didn’t follow the bus, but were at literally every stop to help with meals. Our youngsters did us proud from the Mosquero FFA Chapter to the entire Roy school that greeted us through Roy. Joe Clavel’s 9-year-old granddaughter put us all to shame in roping calves and gently getting them to the branding fire.
We made lots of new friends and got reacquainted with old ones. It is unfortunate that we cannot gather up the entire Legislature, Congressional delegation and the Administration and provide them this experience. There is no doubt that we could open up some minds.
We are counting down the days to the Mid-Year Meeting June 24 to 26 at the Inn of the Mountain Gods. The deadline has passed for reserving a room, but if you find you can come at the last minute, please let us know and we will do our best to find accommodations for you. The program is getting bigger and more interesting by the day. This is a gathering you won’t want to miss.
In closing, I want to once again invite anyone who is not a member of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association to join and to urge our current members to bring a friend along to convention and get them signed up. Our Association is only as strong as the people who support it. You can join now at www.nmagriculture.org .