Happy New Year! I’m looking forward to this one, and my only resolution is to make it a normal, fairly unremarkable year. We had a very more than normal and remarkable Convention last month in Reno, here are the highlights through my own filter, which I confess can be overly optimistic:
- The workshop process that a state agency must employ before adopting new regulations worked pretty well for trichomoniasis I think; looks like we’ll get better regulation most of us can live with, without a state-wide mandatory testing but with an improved multi-year testing in hot areas.
- The shortage of brand inspectors many of us experienced this fall was not from lack of positions but from lack of people in them.
- There were a couple of differing opinions on long range weather but the one I’m going with shows a fairly normal winter (whatever “normal” is) and a late spring/early summer that is wetter than we’ve experienced in a while.
- Cattle markets are poised to take off (in a good way). The only potential buzz-kill would be a hoof and mouth disease outbreak here in the USA.
- The best counter to a hoof and mouth disease outbreak in the USA is a robust individual animal ID system in place, which will become mandatory in the next few years. As an aside, I also learned that Big Brother won’t learn anything from that program about us that he doesn’t already know.
- John Ascuaga exhibited unique physical toughness common to his Basque heritage by walking throughout the Nugget Resort day after day in cowboy boots.
- This State Legislative Session shouldn’t be the challenge that the last one was but we’ll definitely want to be engaged. We’ve enjoyed great access to Joe Lombardo and his Staff which will help a lot.
- There are so many daunting challenges to our industry on multiple fronts, but the people we have working on them are exceptional and I’m proud to be in this Association.
A Happy and Healthy 2023 to you friends, it’s good to be with you.
Jon Griggs
President, NCA
nevadacattlemen.org