CATTLEMEN'S COLUMN HAPPY NEW YEAR! NOW LET'S GET TO WORK from the 2024 CCA Officer Team
As we turn the page to a new calendar year and a new chapter in the book of the California Cattlemen's Association's record book, we are optimistic about the opportunities that lie ahead for our industry up and down this great state and across the west. It goes without saying that we have plenty of challenges facing our way of life. But as we each returned home to our ranching operations in our respective areas of the state following our assocation's annual convention in December, the job that lie before us was not as daunting as it seemed before the convention. By putting our heads together as a membership and as an officer team, the collaborative effort put in and the ideas that emerge are inspiring. With the help of what is unarguably one of the most experienced lobbying teams in Sacramento and across the cattle business, our ability to be victorious on the most pressing issues is promising. Across the west December is known for being a cowboy month. Cowboys and "wannabe cowboys" flock to places like Las Vegas to celebrate the western way of life. Sure we may secretly laugh at these "want to bes" but how terrific is it that we live in a world where people
10 California Cattleman January 2024
want to be cowboys? That is something we need to capitalize on and encourage. Aside from professional athletes, cowboys are one of the only professions that people want to affilate with. People trust cowboys. People trust farmers. People trust the men and women responsible for raising their food. Next time you question if your livelihood as a cattle producer in California is worth it, remind yourself that you are part of the 2 percent of our nation that helps feed the world and people want to be like you. Thanks largely to CCA staff, the heavy lifting in Sacramento is well-managed and as such, we as an officer team are able to stay on top of the issues of concern in our own region and help communicate needs on the local level with the office staff that is situated in the capital city and poised to make sure our needs are met. For those of you who attended the annual convention of our cattlemen and cattlewomen's associations in Reno last month, many of the faces of your officer team are familiar but for those of you who may not have had the ...CONTINUED ON PAGE 12