Feeder Meeting packed with attendees, information

by CCA Director of Communications Katie Roberti

Of all the annual meetings and events CCA puts on, there probably isn’t one that packs more business, speakers and fun into a short schedule than Feeder Meeting. The 2022 event held May 25-27 in San Diego was evidence of that again.

After being canceled in 2020 and postponed to August in 2021, this year’s meeting resumed being held in May and attendance was back to the level it had been at prior to the onset of the pandemic. A little entertainment was also welcomed back with the 2022 Welcome Party sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim being held on the Toyota Beach in Petco Park’s outfield during a San Diego Padres baseball game.

For the program, over a dozen speakers were on the agenda including well-known meat advocates on social media, leaders from Mexico and Brazil’s beef industries and CattleFax’s Duane Lenz—an annual speaker at the event.

CCA Second Vice President and former chair of CCA’s Feeder Council Trevor Freitas, Tipton, says getting all the feeders together and tackling some of the issues facing the industry is the goal of the annual meeting. Months of preparation and planning from the leadership of CCA’s Feeder Council and CCA staff went into organizing this year’s event that offered timely updates, relevant discussions and the opportunity to connect with those in the industry in California and globally.

Two updates this year specifically focused on giving attendees a look at beef industries in other countries: Mexico and Brazil. SilvaTeam’s Marcelo Manella spoke about beef production in Brazil and the country’s current industry issues.

“Everything is a worldwide market now,” Freitas said. “You almost have to bring in those international speakers to cover what’s going on in those regions.”

From Mexico, Juan Ley, president of the Mexican Beef Exporters Association and Rogelio Perez, director of the Mexican Beef Exporters Association, explained the current state of the beef industry in Mexico and how the country ranks worldwide in beef production. Perez’s presentation showed that Mexico ranks 10th among countries for beef and veal exports. Another fact he touched on is that together, North and South America produce almost 50 percent of beef and veal worldwide, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture.

Following the updates on Mexico and Brazil, the three speakers engaged attendees by taking questions on a panel moderated by CCA Feeder Council Chair Jesse Larios, Brawley. For Larios, what stood out to him from the updates and discussion is how aligned Mexico and Brazil’s issues are with ones the U.S. beef industry is facing.

“We have to know what’s [happening] on the other side of the world to understand how we are going to tackle the issues, not just in California or as the United States but as a worldwide industry,” Larios said.

Another timely presentation on the impact of events happening abroad came from Rabo AgriFinance’s Vice President Analyst Andrick de la Payen Diaz Vega. This update provided a look into the “grain drain” occurring due to the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine.

“It’s a lot of moving parts right now in the feeding industry in regards to what is going on worldwide,” Freitas said.

The impacts of unrest in the Ukraine weren’t the only red flag for feed commodities discussed while gathered in San Diego. In California, freight costs and feed delays are two realities feeders currently face with few solutions.

“One thing that came up in the side conversations is freight costs,” Larios said. “Freight is killing every level of the industry—it is adding so many costs. Before, you could ship calves from California to anywhere in the U.S., but now you’re having a hard time because freight costs so much.”

Larios says the same issue is true for shipping live cattle right now.

In addition to the extra costs, recent railroad delays in feed deliveries are causing feeders across the state to anticipate and be prepared for the possibility of shipments arriving late—sometimes two or more weeks later than planned.

“The last six months have been really bad as far as feed deliveries from the Midwest coming out to California in both the Imperial Valley and the Central Valley,” Freitas said. ‘We’ve all been struggling. At times it’s been literally within hours of running out of corn in either the Imperial Valley or the Central Valley.”

CCA has helped organize meetings with high-level officials in California with hopes of mitigating delays in the future, but the need to seek federal assistance is now likely. Freitas says the issue, stemming from primarily a lack of labor, is difficult to tackle because Union Pacific is a private company.

“I know cattle feeders in the Imperial Valley [who] came so close that they had to call other feedyards and say, ‘Can I borrow corn, because I am running out.’” Larios says

“It’s changed the way we have all started operating— stockpiling corn like we’ve never seen,” Freitas says.

With volatile cattle markets and prices dominating industry discussions over the last two years, a few presentations on issues within those subjects also made their way onto the agenda. Beef industry expert Cassandra Fish gave a presentation titled “Current State of U.S. Fed Cattle Processing Capacity and Its Implications.” Following

the update from Fish, Agri Beef Executive Vice President of Business Development Wade Small spoke on “Packers Concentration in the West.” Small later returned to the speaker podium to discuss the influence dairy cattle are having on beef.

From the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, (NCBA) attendees heard from chief veterinarian Kathy Simmons on cattle implants and what future regulations could mean for feeders. Additionally, chief executive officer Colin Woodall was present for the meeting and gave a rundown on the good, the bad and the ugly issues NCBA staff is working on in Washington, D.C.

Outside of direct industry updates, the opportunity to hear from two well-known meat advocates was made possible at this year’s meeting in part thanks to support from the California Cattle Council. One of those guests was Shawn Baker, M.D, the author of The Carnivore Diet and co-founder of the company Revero. Baker’s presentation titled “Beef, The True Superfood!” showed the positive health impacts of switching to an all-meat diet.

Additionally, Jess Pryles—meat specialist, live fire cook, author and founder of Hardcore Carnivore—spoke about her experiences advocating for meat, specifically on social media. Having grown up in the major metropolitan of Melbourne, she shared about her journey of developing a passion for busting myths about meat and the people producing animal proteins. To hear more about how she is continuing to strengthen her resume as a credible source for the truth about meat, listen to season 2, episode 12 of Sorting Pen: The California Cattleman Podcast.

Other updates included speakers from JBS USA, Compass Ag Solutions, Jefo Nutrition, Inc and CattleFax. This year’s event was the final CCA Feeder Meeting for CattleFax’s Duane Lenz as he looks forward to retiring in the coming months. After providing the CattleFax outlook and overview, Lenz was given a special thank you from CCA’s Feeder Council for all the time and updates he’s given to the group over the years.

With this year’s meeting also marking the end of Larios’ time as chair, Joe Dan Cameron, Brawley, started his twoyear term as chair of CCA’s Feeder Council at the business meeting. Mike Sulpizio, Brawley, now serves alongside Cameron as vice-chair.

Next year’s Feeder Meeting will likely be back in San Diego. If you have not attended the meeting previously and are interested in potentially participating, save the date for the last week in May and stay tuned to https://calcattlemen.org/ events for details on it to come.

“I feel that we have really excelled bringing in top level speakers,” Larios said. “This meeting is so full of information that we invite all segments of the industry.”

For additional details, reach out to CCA Director of Finance and Events Lisa Brendlen, who leads the charge of organizing the event alongside CCA’s Feeder Council leadership. She can be reached at lisa@calcattlemen.org or (916) 444-0845.

To hear more about this year’s meeting, tune into the conversation had with Freitas and Larios on season 2, episode 11 of Sorting Pen. All Sorting Pen episodes are available for free on major streaming apps and through your web browser at https://calcattlemen.org/podcast.

The 2022 Feeder Meeting Welcome Party held on the Toyota Beach in Petco Park’s outfield and sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim.

CCA Feeder Council Leadership: CCA Feeder Council Chair Joe Dan Cameron, Outgoing Chair Jesse Larios and Immediate Past Chair Trevor Freitas.

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Cassandra Fish, presented on the current state of U.S. fed cattle processing capacity. Agri Beef’s Wade Small spoke on packers concentration in the West and dairy’s influence on beef.

Rogelio Perez, Mexican Beef Exporters Association, shares Mexico rank in world beef production Rabo AgriFinance’s Andrick Payen Diaz Vega spoke about Ukraine’s grain impact.

NCBA’s Colin Woodall provided an update on what NCBA is working on in Washington, D.C. Nikki Richardson, JBS, talked about JBS’ steps to build and invest in their team post-COVID.

Marcelo Manella, Director, SilvaTeam, providing an update on Brazil’s Beef Industry. Juan Ley, Mexican Beef Exporters Association, talks about the current state of Mexico’s beef industry.

Juan Ley and Rogelio Perez of the Mexican Beef Exporters Association and SilvaTeam’s Marcelo Manella taking question on a panel following updates on Mexico and Brazil’s beef industries.

Well-known social media meat advocates Jess Pryles and Shawn Baker, M.D., spoke at this year’s Feeder Meeting and attended the event.