Tag: American Cattlemen

Nikki Weston named President-Elect of the American National CattleWomen

Posted on by Twin Rivers Media

Nikki Weston named President-Elect of the American National CattleWomen

Article and photo courtesy of American National CattleWomen

ORLANDO – Utah CattleWoman, Nikki Weston has been named the American National CattleWomen (ANCW) President-Elect. Weston, of Randolph, UT., was named to the position at the 2024 Cattle Industry Convention in Orlando, FL, Jan. 30, 2024. Over the next year, Weston will support the initiatives of the ANCW along with fellow officers President, Ruth Coffey of Oklahoma and Vice-President, Casey Matzke of Texas.

Nikki Weston’s first experience with the American National CattleWomen was a Region VI meeting in St George, Utah. She loved the passion for agriculture and the bond of sister ship she felt there. She joined the Utah CattleWomen and helped establish the Utah Beef Ambassador Program. Nikki and her family own Winecup Cattle Co., a working ranch going back seven generations that runs a Black Angus cross cow-calf operation in Northern Utah and South Eastern Idaho.

Nikki has served as the Vice President of the ANCW, the interim Collegiate Beef Advocate Advisor, the Region VI Director of ANCW, the Past President of the Utah CattleWomen Association, and is serving on the Utah Beef Council.

Nikki has a B.S. from Utah State University in Biology/Public Health with emphasis in Industrial Hygiene and a Chemistry minor. She has experience teaching science and health at Rich High School. She is married and the mother of five beautiful children and two grandchildren.

American National CattleWomen is a voice for women who share a passion for the beef community with focus areas in beef promotion, education and legislation. For more information, visit www.ancw.org.

Ruth Coffey named President of the American National CattleWomen

Posted on by Twin Rivers Media

Ruth Coffey named President of the American National CattleWomen

Article courtesy of American National CattleWomen

ORLANDO – Oklahoma CattleWoman, Ruth Coffey has been named the American National CattleWomen (ANCW) President. Coffey, of Spring, OK., was named to the position at the 2024 Cattle Industry Convention in Orlando, FL, Jan. 30, 2024. Over the next year, Coffey will support the initiatives of the ANCW along with fellow officers President-Elect, Nikki Weston of Utah and Vice-President, Casey Matzke of Texas.

Coffey, along with husband, Chuck, and their children run the Double C Cattle Company in south central Oklahoma, a fifth-generation cow calf operation. In 2019, the Coffeys were awarded the Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award and in 2020 they were the recipients of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP). ESAP strives to recognize “outstanding stewardship practices and conservation achievements of U.S. cattle producers”. Both Ruth and Chuck have been active in the cattle industry for many years.

Prior to this position, Coffey served in the role of ANCW Region IV Director from 2020-2022 and served as a member on the ANCW Membership and Communications Committee. She was also named the ANCW Promoter of the Year in 2020, Oklahoma CattleWoman of the Year in 2019 and served as the OCW President from 2017-2019.

Her love for education began in her college years as she obtained a degree in Elementary Education and Art at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX. Upon graduation, Coffey owned and operated a custom framing studio in Tishomingo, OK and would go on to teach middle school art for over 15 years. Coffey would return to school to study Rangeland Ecology and Management at Texas A&M University. She retired from teaching to focus on her family ranch and now devotes her time to supporting the beef community on a local, state and national level.

Coffey enjoys time spent outdoors with her horses and grandchildren. She is most looking forward to learning about the ways in which her fellow CattleWomen raise cattle in their regions and getting to study the different sectors of the U.S. cattle industry.

American National CattleWomen is a voice for women who share a passion for the beef community with focus areas in beef promotion, education and legislation. For more information, visit www.ancw.org.

NCBA Statement on USDA Final Traceability Rule

Posted on by Twin Rivers Media

NCBA Statement on USDA Final Traceability Rule

Article courtesy of National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

WASHINGTON (April 26, 2024) – Today, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Mark Eisele, a Wyoming rancher, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) final traceability rule:

“USDA’s final traceability rule updates the existing requirement for animal identification that has been in place since 2013, switching from solely visual tags to tags that are both electronically and visually readable for certain classes of cattle moving interstate. Many producers are already familiar with using these visual tags and under the new rule, they will instead use electronic tags. NCBA has worked hard to secure $15 million in funding for producers to reduce the cost of implementing this change. We also remain committed to safeguarding producers’ private data and continuing to reduce the cost of ear tags for farmers and ranchers. Our industry faces a tremendous threat from the risk of a future foreign animal disease on American soil. To avoid devastating financial losses during a potential outbreak and to help producers quickly return to commerce, we need an efficient animal disease traceability system.”  
 
Background 

The USDA final traceability rule amends a previous 2013 rule that requires sexually intact cattle 18 months of age or older, rodeo and exhibition cattle, and dairy cattle moving interstate to have an official form of animal identification. The 2013 rule, which cattle producers already comply with, instituted visual ID tags for interstate movement. The new final rule switches producers to electronic ID tags, which are easier to read and would yield a faster traceability response during a foreign animal disease outbreak. The cattle industry faces immense threats from foreign animal diseases, which can be carried into the country by individual travelers, on contraband products, or through regular commerce. It is estimated that a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the U.S. would lead to $221 billion in economic losses. Only 11% of the U.S. cattle herd is impacted by this final rule. The rule will not take effect for six months to provide time for producers to prepare.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has represented America’s cattle producers since 1898, preserving the heritage and strength of the industry through education and public policy.  As the largest association of cattle producers, NCBA works to create new markets and increase demand for beef.  Efforts are made possible through membership contributions. To join, contact NCBA at 1-866-BEEF-USA or membership@beef.org.

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