Message from the President

Important collaboration with U of I continues

Various colleges on campus play roles as we address issues such as sage grouse, grazing and anti-meat messaging

BY MARK PRATT ICA President

In mid-December, Cameron, Morgan and I traveled to the University of Idaho in Moscow. We met with the deans and faculty leadership of several colleges on campus that all have an interest and influence in the cattle industry in Idaho.

At the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, we discussed how to address the anti-meat messaging prevalent throughout the country, including on the campus of our own land grant university. Extension, Consumer Science, and Meat Science all have an important role to play.

We want a strategy that promotes the health benefits of beef and helps consumers (including students and faculty) understand our product and the value of eating beef raised on sustainable landscapes. We agreed to reconvene in February during the Idaho Ag Summit to make a game plan.

At the College of Natural Resources, our focus was the ongoing sage grouse and grazing research project, and what preliminary findings we can use as range livestock operations to protect the bird and its habitat while continuing to graze on public land.

We know Idaho’s citizens value open space, healthy wildlife populations and recreational opportunities. We discussed the question: “How can we educate students around the positive role of well-managed grazing in wildfire suppression, environmental health and keeping open space open?”

Most of the agency employees we deal with at the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Idaho Department of Lands, etc., are graduates of natural resource colleges. We ranchers may come from different disciplines than they do, but we operate in a shared world.

The elk lounging out in our pasture across the road do as well. They don’t know our linear way of thinking has placed them in a different college – natural resources – separate from the rest of our production model. These wild animals could be labeled with the new buzz phrase in the collaborative world: “boundary spanners.”

We’ve always had a good working relationship with the University of Idaho. We appreciate their willingness to meet with us and continue the important work around the future of the livestock industry.

The other purpose of going north was to meet with District 1 cattle producers. We had two meetings, one in Moscow and one in Grangeville. Their top concerns were increased recreational pressures and issues around the Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area. We hope to facilitate discussions around the role of well-managed grazing in reducing fuel loads.

Thanks to all who attended and good luck to you.

We discussed the question: “How can we educate students around the positive role of well-managed grazing in wildfire suppression, environmental health and keeping open space open?”