In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Hunter Ihrman, executive director for strategic engagement and government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Ihrman discusses his new role and NCBA’s efforts to build partnerships beyond traditional agricultural organizations to strengthen the cattle industry’s voice in Washington, D.C.
“I’ve been blessed to be with NCBA for five years. The bulk of that on the communications team, but at the start of this year, I became NCBA’s first executive director of strategic engagement,” Ihrman says. “And what that really boils down to is partnerships to help advance our policy priorities.”
Ihrman says NCBA is looking beyond traditional agricultural partners, including groups in the hunting and fishing communities that share some of the cattle industry’s policy concerns. “So my job is to go out there, find organizations that have similar values to us in the cattle business when they have policies that overlap and help work together so that we can magnify our voice, cut through the noise, and ultimately pass policies that are going to support the American cattle producer.”
Building Coalitions Around the Gray Wolf
One example is NCBA’s work with hunting and conservation groups on gray wolf delisting. Ihrman points to Safari Club International as one organization with a shared interest in the issue. “They have 50,000 members. You add that on top of NCBA’s membership. That’s a significantly stronger voice that’s calling their elected officials, writing letters to Congress,” he says.
Ihrman says these partnerships can help cattle producers and other groups put more pressure on lawmakers to act. “And so, by working together as part of a coalition, we can put even more pressure on our legislators to ultimately do the right thing and delist the gray wolf.”
Looking Beyond Agriculture
Ihrman says NCBA’s partnership strategy also means working with organizations outside of agriculture. “I’m also looking at groups that are non-traditional partners, folks outside of agriculture that you might not think of,” he says. “There are plenty in the hunting and fishing space, and one reason to work with them is they are facing the same adversaries that we are.”
He says animal rights groups are one example of a common challenge. “We have animal rights activists that want to shut down cattle production, that don’t think we ought to be eating meat, and those same activists are also out there saying that we shouldn’t be able to hunt and fish either.”
Ihrman says expanding the coalition is especially important because agriculture is working with fewer resources than some of its opponents. “The people who are trying to put agriculture out of business also have millions and millions of dollars at their disposal. And I certainly wish that we had those resources, but we don’t,” he says. “And so we have to be really advantageous and come up with new tactics to make sure that we can keep representing agriculture, and this is one of those things.”
Growing NCBA’s Political Voice
Another part of NCBA’s advocacy efforts is its Political Action Committee, or PAC. Ihrman says the PAC is designed to help elect candidates who support agriculture. “Our Political Action Committee really is our voice in Washington D.C. That’s something we’ve worked hard to grow over the past few years, and ultimately, it’s a tool to make sure that we continue to get good, strong, pro-agriculture candidates elected to office.”
Ihrman says cattle producers need to stay engaged at every level of government. “We continue to talk about how agriculture is just 2% of the population. We need a Congress that’s paying attention to more than just that small number. We need to have more than 2% of Congress be pro-agriculture in order to make sure our way of life remains protected.”
Importance of Local and Federal Elections
Ihrman says NCBA works closely with state cattle organizations to understand what is happening on the ground and determine where federal-level support may be needed. “We rely on the relationships of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association with the Oklahoma delegation to give us some guidance on what’s going on at the state level, who we need to be supporting,” he says.
He also emphasizes that cattle producers should pay attention to elections beyond Washington. “Oftentimes, the decisions that impact you the most in your day to day are the local elected officials, your county commissioners, your state legislators, your governor,” Ihrman says. “It’s critically important that you pay attention to who those folks are because they can certainly cause a lot of headaches for you in your cattle business day to day if you don’t.”
Staying Vigilant Ahead of the Election
As the November general election approaches, Ihrman says NCBA is preparing for what could be an expensive and challenging election cycle. “We certainly are, and it’s looking like it’s going to be a very expensive and a very challenging election,” he says.
Ihrman points to the continued presence of animal rights activists and ballot initiatives targeting hunting, fishing and livestock production as reasons cattle producers need to remain engaged. “We have to be vigilant and we have to be active,” Ihrman says.
He adds that groups opposing animal agriculture are committed to advancing their causes over the long term. “They’ve got boatloads of money and they continue to say that they’re going to chip away little by little,” he says. “They’re going to go to city councils and try to advance their policies. They’re going to try to do ballot propositions all over the place, and even when they lose, they still view that as a win for getting a little bit closer to their cause and just chipping away at us a little bit more and more.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR above for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
