Steve Dunning: President’s Thoughts

PRESIDENT’S THOUGHTS STEVE DUNNING

Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association President

Fellow cattlemen, First, I want to thank the Board of Directors who participated in the June 26 first of its kind webinar meeting. It seems everything went well for this quarterly business meeting. The webinar is a new tool for KCA which looks to be part of the “new normal” that everyone is experiencing, and will probably be used more in future meetings. Personally, I was looking forward to the in-person meet and greet with fellow cattlemen from across the state. This meeting was originally scheduled to be held at Hardin County’s new UK Extension office but had to be cancelled due to the current meeting requirements. Thanks to all of the KCA staff for making this new technology work for us, and a special thanks to Becky for being the moderator! We are now in our fourth month of lockdown and with new cases of Covid19 spikingindifferentpartsofthecountry,it doesn’t look like we are out of the woods yet. Schools and colleges will be starting various curricular schedules soon, so hopefully we can get the kids back in the classrooms (of whatever kind) this fall. July and August usher in heat and humidity. This makes outdoor work for cattlemen uncomfortable and sometimes unbearable. It also has the same affect on our livestock. Shade is very important this time of season for cattle to have a “refuge” from the sun and heat. My cattle “shade” all day until the setting sun goes down behind the hills enough to allow them to get back to foraging. Early morning presun-up always finds themgrazing. Also remember to keep free access to good, clean water and a good mineral accessible at all times.

This month’s special edition of Cow Country News is going out to over 20,000 recipients. Thank you for taking the time to read the articles in this special edition. I would like to invite and encourage everyone that is not a current member to join the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association today. It is vitally important for anyone to be a member of your industry’s association, regardless of what it may be and to show your support for Kentucky cattlemen even if you don’t have cattle. Remember....”Beef, it’s what’s for dinner”. The American cattlemen embody the timeless values of America. Cattlemen believe in hard work and self reliance. We follow the laws with respect and stand for our great American flag. We support our communities, raise and nurture loving familes and teach our children right from wrong and to always be loyal to our nation. Cowboy Up.