I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July celebrating the freedoms of this great nation. Freedoms that were the result of great sacrifice and hard work by so many in our nation’s history. I find it discouraging that many in our country now take these freedoms we have grown accustomed to for granted. They seem to forget the life and opportunities afforded to all of us as citizens – the very reasons so many flock to our borders. This country was built upon hard work, determination and the will to make tomorrow better than today. I hope that we will soon return to these principals.
I believe it is the responsibility of each of us to work to ensure that our freedoms and the principals this country was founded upon are protected for future generations. Walter Leberski was one those people who believed in the greatness of this country and he took it upon himself to make it better. Walt was a long-time friend of the livestock industry and believed in the mission of the NCA. He dedicated much of his time and efforts to protecting our industry right up to the time of his passing. His dedicated support will continue as the NCA was the recipient of a very generous gift from Walt’s estate.
The primary focus of the endowment is education. I am pleased to announce that we will soon be able to offer another annual scholarship in the name of Walter Leberski. There were certain wishes and directives that he spelled out and we will honor those. We continue to appreciate all Walt has done for us.
July is also the time of year when many Nevada cattle are sold for fall delivery. Given the wide-spread drought, feed costs and the current bottle neck in the meat processing segment, there is a lot of uncertainty in the market.
I wish you all the best marketing your cattle.
Tom Barnes
President, NCA