By TIM ALEXANDER
Illinois Correspondent

ASTORIA, Ill. — Steve Foglesong, the Astoria, Ill. rancher who recently completed a year at the helm of the National Cattleman’s Beef Assoc. (NCBA), returned from the annual NCBA convention in Denver in February to find the central Illinois region blanketed in up to 15 inches of wet, heavy snow.
Since the younger generation had plowed the Foglesong ranch and restored operations to normal, the days after the “Blizzard of 2011” provided Foglesong an opportunity to reflect on his year as NCBA president.

Among his ruminations: federal lawmakers are out of touch with modern production agriculture, the U.S. government has no business interfering with the beef checkoff, GIPSA (USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyard Administration) rule changes may not end up as sweeping as many feared and the beef herd needs to expand from the supply side – though calf prices must improve first.

Foglesong said what struck him most during his leadership was just how little most elected officials know about modern agriculture. “Another way to put that would be to say that it brought into focus just how much we as producers need to be engaged with telling (politicians) what we do,” said Foglesong, chuckling.
His message, however, was serious: “It’s not really their fault – there are so few people involved in agriculture these days. So few (legislators) have any firsthand experience,” he added.

On government intrusion
He said his presidency was marked by a year of fending off intrusive oversight and proposed regulations by the federal government, including new beef checkoff standards that encouraged more USDA involvement.

“I paid for that checkoff as a producer. I don’t expect nor do I need the government looking over my shoulder on what we want to say about our products. They want to look at all the press releases, talking points of speeches, PowerPoint presentations and anything else we write. Everything must be looked over and approved by USDA,” Foglesong said.

The Illinois rancher, who succeeded Gary Voogt as president in 2010, is proud of the role he and the NCBA – arm-in-arm with pork producers – played in delaying proposed new GIPSA rules affecting producers and packers until a serious economic analysis can be conducted and reviewed.

“They’ve wisely taken one step back, and now they have 60,000-plus comments to review,” said Foglesong of the GIPSA. “At least they are giving it some due diligence and I’m very hopeful that the secretary will come back with something drastically different than what we thought it would be.”
The proposed rule was one example of how cattle producers can come to be pitted against other cattle producers, Foglesong found. “The NCBA are free-traders; we want the opportunity to trade when, where and how we want to. (Other groups) are a little more provincial and didn’t want to be that open,” he noted.

“There are feeders, cow-calf guys on both sides of that one. We feel it is government over-reach when a regulatory agency like USDA wants to step in without any legislative action being taken. That’s where it really set us apart.”
In his home state, Foglesong said the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under current leadership is heavy-handed and should butt out of the “positive” relationship Illinois farmers and ranchers have forged with the Illinois EPA.

“The federal EPA has gotten all over the IEPA, claiming they weren’t doing enough. They didn’t think the IEPA was doing their job, and I disagree with that. (IEPA) seeks solutions that farmers can work with, and isn’t just interested in generating lawsuits,” said Foglesong.

Aside from examining stringent new regulations for greenhouse gas emissions and water regulations, dust emissions from farming practices are under intense scrutiny by the U.S. EPA. While dust regulations are being considered largely due to the perceived effects of animal agriculture practices, Foglesong feels the proposed standards could impact Illinois’ row crop farmers more than livestock producers because of the high number of confined animal feeding operations employed by livestock producers in the state.

“A lot of dust gets blown around from combines and other machinery come harvest time,” he said.

On herds and prices
His opinion on how beef prices and herd expansion will fare in coming months: “The beef herd needs to expand from a supply side, but it’s tough. If you’ve got a heifer that is worth $1,400 if you sell her, and she’s not worth any more than that if she’s a bred female, it’s really hard to expand,” he said.

“Bankers will say we need to expand the herd, but before that happens we are going to need to see some extended periods of really good calf prices in order for someone to keep back a $1,400 animal rather than put her on the market.
“As small as the cow herd is, the signals should be there for us to expand. The economics just haven’t made that happen. Some 14 things come to bear here, (but) the feed cost is so high there is nowhere to go. A big corn crop and cheaper corn prices could make a difference,” Foglesong added.

All in all, he enjoyed his year at NCBA and feels fortunate to have presided over a profitable year for most cattle producers.

“2010 was a good year, really, for everybody, including the packer,” he said. “The cow-calf guys had an opportunity to make good money, and the feeders made good money. After ‘08 and ‘09, when the feeders got hammered so hard, they needed a break. The signals were there for everybody to make a few bucks. I never found anyplace in the country where there was not an opportunity to do good.”

A big question as he left office, he said, was whether producers should be keeping back heifers. “I keep telling everyone yes, the supply numbers should be good for a while.”

Other positive developments during Foglesong’s tenure included NCBA’s role in guiding new beef product nutritional labeling, updated federal dietary guidelines and working toward a free trade agreement with Korea. “These were some big wins for us,” he said.

On fences and chicken coops
Foglesong will remain on the NCBA board of directors for about five more years, and will still attend officer meetings and offer his input. He’ll also take on a few speaking engagements this year.

Most of all, he’ll look forward to focusing his energies on his 5,200-acre cow-calf, stocker ranch, feedlot and replacement heifer development program and spending more time with his family.

“I’ll have a little more time at the ranch to expand our outfit and to see the grandkids a little more often,” said Foglesong, who has recently been mending pasture fences and constructing a chicken coop for his wife’s birthday present. “It won’t be the day-to-day grind anymore as far as taking care of (NCBA) business. And my wife is pretty excited about having that chicken coop filled.”
Montana rancher Bill Donald replaced Foglesong as president during the NCBA Convention, which drew more than 5,600 cattle producers to Denver.