CALF_News_April_May_2019

25 CALF News • April | May 2019 • www.calfnews.net C ordingley was opening speaker for the annual Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Cattle- men’s College (CC) in New Orleans earlier this year. CC’s many educational sessions touched on all subjects connected to the beef industry. From sessions on better breeding techniques to marketing, several thousand attendees took part in the numerous CC sessions. Cordingley helped inspire them with his breakfast talk that looked at stark realities of new-age communication technology and how different messages get out. His discussion of social capital was new to some. Basi- cally, social capital involves how an industry, business or organization is perceived by a community or by consumers. “It’s a social license given to an industry by the com- munity,” Cordingley explained. “For beef, it’s the moral and legal licenses to utilize the land, water and sunshine to produce beef for the community. “The social license the beef industry operates under is under discussion and in some quarters being challenged. Issues have been there a long time, such as animal welfare, the environment and human nutrition. There is a wide opinion that the beef industry is bad, that livestock pro- duction is trashing the planet. It is a challenge for us all.” Guerrilla warfare As has been a theme in recent years, social media and advanced technology are providing platforms for anti-beef activ- ists to spread misinformation about beef, animal welfare and its impact on the environment. Cordingley said such communica- tion to consumers has often nullified the scientific truth about beef production. “Science is no longer our savior,” he said.“This issue needs to be taken more seriously and the industry must be better at tell- ing its story. We need an army of advocates for beef because it’s guerrilla warfare on the internet.” He emphasized that consumers “are looking for authenticity,” and social media provides cattle producers a method to tell their stories themselves. “Consumers have an increasing desire to know about their food,” he said. But the information overload is causing confusion. “If you choose not to be active yourself, there are plenty out there [with anti-beef views],” he said. Exports more vital Cordingley joined others at the big convention to state the importance of beef exports and the disadvantage of continued trade wars with key potential foreign markets. “The world is globalizing,” he said, pointing out that U.S. beef exports now stand at about 12 percent of total production and could reach 20 percent in five years. “There are 300 million middle class consumers in China, and they can afford quality food. This industry must have an oppor- tunity to serve those consumers.” Japan remains eager to buy more U.S. beef, as do countries in Southeast Asia and Europe. But with the trade wars,“the U.S. is pointed in the wrong direction,” Cordingley said, noting that U.S. beef producers “cannot afford” for such polices to continue. “The U.S. is the world’s premium supplier of quality beef and will continue to be so,” he said. However, he added, the beef industry must become more transparent to all markets and do a better job of using technology to spread the word on improved beef quality through better genetics and other production techniques.  Beef Industry Needs More SOCIAL CAPITAL Bill Cordingley, managing director and head of wholesale banking for Rabobank North America, kicked off the NCBA Cattlemen’s College. It takes more and more capital to make a cattle operation work. But it’s not just money that’s needed. “Social capital” will play a more important role in the U.S. beef industry’s future. Yet the industry is approaching a “social-capital deficit” that could cause a shortfall, said Bill Cordingley, head of Rabobank wholesale banking in Chicago. Feeding nine billion people on planet Earth poses not only a logistical problem, but production problems as well. Educa- tion of potential export customers in genetic modification and the importance of this technology in a sustainable environment remains one of our most difficult and important jobs. Cattlemen, dairy farmers and livestock producers of all kinds aren’t alone in their pursuit of educating the public and encour- aging our consumers to adopt a positive attitude toward our products. We can thank the corn farmers of America for being our partners in agriculture. Together, we are pulling the mission forward.  CORN GROWERS Continued from page 24 By Larry Stalcup Contributing Editor