WATERFIELD ADDRESSES CATTLE FEEDERS
AT TCFA ANNUAL CONVENTION

            Calling 2001 a "really eventful year," outgoing TCFA Chairman Jim Waterfield told cattle feeders that their industry has changed significantly and will continue to change, meaning that future years will likely be just as eventful. 

            Speaking at the 2001 Annual Convention of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association this week in Dallas , Waterfield emphasized that much of what was true of the cattle industry in years past no longer works.  "And the consumer of 1961 is not at all like the consumer of 2001.  Our lifestyles have changed and we, as cattlemen and women, must recognize those changes."

            In addition to recognizing and adapting to changing consumer preferences in the type of beef product they buy and eat, Waterfield said cattlemen must also be open to ideas on new ways to use the land, new ways to improve their product, and new ways cattlemen can impact their industry.  That's why many cattlemen are so disappointed in the LMA's efforts to destroy the beef checkoff, he said.

             "We are making such a strong showing in the stores with our case-ready and prepared beef products, and these were developed with big help from checkoff dollars," he told cattle feeders.  The success of those products affects every cattleman-cow-calf producer, stocker operator and feeder alike-because every dollar that ends up in a cattleman's pocket comes from a consumer purchasing beef.  Without the beef industry's ability to stay abreast of changing consumer tastes and to encourage products that meet consumer desires, cattlemen will suffer. 

But Waterfield is confident that the industry will survive the challenges it's facing.  "Some of the most innovative and fore-sighted people I know are in the cattle business," he said.  "They are accepting and meeting the challenge of change-and they are making it work," he said.

"I truly believe, as an industry, if we are to continue as an organization of both large and small feedyards and producers, we must lead the way in finding new methods to meet the needs of today's America, and we must continue to be on guard against those who would destroy our way of life-and our nation.  No industry is immune to terrorism and sabotage, so we must stay vigilant and protect the cattle industry-for ourselves, our children and for generations to come.

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