by Rex Wilson
New Mexico Cattle Grower’s Association President’s Message
Dear Fellow Members,
It’s fall and the monsoons missed most of us, there are strong predictions that we will have an El Niño winter and hopefully that will set everyone for a good spring.
With the election looming, it appears that our country becomes ever more divided. You can find a poll that will tell you whatever you want to hear, you just have to figure out how weighted it is and in what direction.
The only sure thing we know is that if we don’t turn out rural New Mexico and America, we are facing an even tougher road in the regulatory arena and maybe legislative as well. We know that we will have at least 28 new faces in the New Mexico Legislature and that number could grow depending on the outcome of the general election. Few of us have ever headed to Santa Fe with the opportunities facing us in the 2013 Legislature. We have a chance to bring a whole new group of folks on board with our issues.
That work has already started and we had a great candidate roundup at the Fall Board Meeting in late September. It was gratifying to see our members stepping up to the plate and offering support to the candidates who attended. I hope that is going on everywhere in the state.
The power of working together was never more clear to me than in the past few weeks when my three sons and I joined forces to build a new set of pens. The boys and the pens are certainly something I can be proud of. With the four of us working together, the pens were not only finished in a timely manner, but they are the best set of pens I have ever had. They are better than something I could have done on my own.
That same principle needs to be considered and applied in everything we do, but especially when it comes to the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association (NMCGA). The things the Association accomplishes would be next to nothing if we didn’t have a strong group of members and leaders who are willing to put their shoulders to the ground and work for the good of every ranch family in our state — not just those who are paying dues.
I sometimes hear that people don’t feel they can join NMCGA unless they are asked. Although that is sure not the case, I am here to ask you now. If you are not already a member of the Association, please join today. You can do so by calling the office at 505/247-0584 or visiting our website at www.nmagriculture.org. Current members may want to visit the website, too. Michelle and the staff launched a newly designed site at the beginning of October.
I also hear that participating in NMCGA is difficult for new members. If we haven’t been as welcoming as we should, we apologize for that and hope you will join us at the upcoming Joint Stockmens’ Convention slated for December 6 through 9 at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North. All committee meetings, with a few exceptions, are open to any member who wishes to participate. We need everyone’s voice to create policy and to implement it.
My mother used to work at the polling precinct at Ancho. One of the things she was most proud of was that our prectinct was always at 100 percent in voting. As our numbers have thinned in the country, the precinct has been consolidated into Carrizozo. I am not sure how, but Mom stills knows that our Ancho neighborhood still votes at nearly 100 percent.
We need that 100 percent participate in the upcoming election, we need that 100 percent as members in NMCGA, and we need that 100 percent working on the numerous issues that face our families, our businesses and our Association every day.
Hope to see you at Convention if not some place before then. We will continue to pray for rain.