In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Gene Copenhaver, president-elect of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and a fifth-generation Virginia cattle producer, about his stocker operation, market volatility, and policy priorities for the cattle industry. Copenhaver operates in southwest Virginia alongside his son and brings a margin-operator perspective shaped by decades of experience and risk management.
Copenhaver described his family’s grass-based stocker operation, explaining, “We’re a stocker operation back in the southwest corner of Virginia… I’m there with my 32-year-old son full time on the operation.” He noted they buy calves from July through October and sell yearlings from May through November, relying primarily on pasture. “We depend on our grass,” he said, adding that most of their cattle are shipped to long-time customers in Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota, relationships he called “great, great relationships.”
With cattle prices surging and volatility increasing, Copenhaver acknowledged the challenges margin operators face. “We got hit pretty good… about $20,000 a load,” he said of a recent shipment, but emphasized the importance of risk management. “We do risk management very religiously,” Copenhaver said, noting he has used “every type of risk management there is out there… from straight hedges to forward pricing to options to the LRP’s” over the last 40 years.
Copenhaver also pointed to policy wins NCBA has celebrated, particularly the updated Waters of the U.S. rule. “We’re real excited because it pretty much follows what our policy has asked for,” he said. He stressed that clearer definitions matter to producers, explaining, “We don’t have ditches and mud holes as Waters of the U.S. now,” and added that the rule aligns more closely with the Supreme Court’s Sackett decision, which he believes will provide “some sustainability down the road.”
Tax policy is another area Copenhaver believes is critical for family operations and future producers. He highlighted permanent estate tax thresholds and depreciation provisions, saying the legislation helps spark needed discussions about succession. “Ninety-five percent of our operations are family operations,” Copenhaver said, adding, “Food security is national security in my mind.” Looking ahead, he expressed optimism about the next generation, saying of young cattle producers, “We have some just dynamic, very, very enterprising people coming on… but we need to make sure that we have a place and help them have the tools to come in the industry.”
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 for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
