CALF_News_August_September_2020

29 CALF News • August | September 2020 • www.calfnews.net THE SCALES OF BALANCE Continued from page 27 Among alternative price discovery ideas, including modifying the CME futures contract specs and boxed beef cut-out-based pricing for live cattle, the biggest concern is how to enforce imple- mentation without creating a govern- ment mandate. Don Close, senior analyst – animal protein at Rabobank, cautions against making major policy changes during a Black Swan event. “When you have the biggest market disruption going all the way back to the Three nights of post-rodeo dances attracted an average of 1,000 or more two-steppers. Even the oldest living Range Rider, Wayne “Okie” Snyder, forever head driver of the Range Riders chuckwagon, appreciated the barn dance. While standing along the dance floor railing, the 93-year-old was asked to join friends at a table. He quipped back to them, “Why? The girls are up here.” Just the start The revamped rodeo was unconventional, without forgetting long-time customs.“Nearly everything was experimental,” Rich says.“The special VIP tent, the dance, several food trucks, the Colt Challenge and the combining of two rodeos was new. And the experiment worked.” Range Rider members never flinched at helping ride herd. Their dedication reminded Rich and Morrison of early-day Range Riders. That was when members too old to serve in the military during World War II helped families manage cattle and other farm and ranch chores while their husbands, sons and others were off to battle. Like now, Range Riders had their community in mind. “What took place wasn’t possible without the help and sup- port of everyone involved,” Rich says.“Back in the day, we had a large rodeo committee. But that had slacked off. This year we reinstated a large committee – and members were all-in from the beginning. We had over 50 members who never let up in making this a success. “Two days after the rodeo, guys were already calling about when can we start planning for 2021. We had a 3½-hour post-rodeo meeting the following Saturday. Many guys showed great emotion over what took place within our ranks, by bring- ing guys back, motivating them to participate. “That’s the attitude the Range Riders have. We’re already extremely motivated for next year and feel many more mem- bers will grab the reins with passion.” Morrison says next year’s planning is already underway. “We’ll do a lot of things better as we expand on this year’s success,” he says.“It’ll be hard to top what we did. But with the Nixon price freeze – and we are still in the fire today, the market has not calmed down – the smartest thing the industry can do is absolutely nothing. Continue to debate, continue to study these issues, but don’t go in there as emotionally charged as this market is and try to make policy changes. “Let the waters calm and then take up these policy decisions again.” While there may not be a single golden fix to our current situation, our industry is in a unique situation with scrutiny coming from consumers and government into our supply chain, prompting the opportunity for action if we strike while the iron is hot. However, industry members must first stick to their roots and work together to come up with a solution that will minimize negative consequences for and promote the sustainability of future generations of cattle producers, keeping in mind emotions need to be disregarded while creating new policy for our constituents. (We can all agree that Prohibition was probably a bit extreme, right?)  drive from our members to excel even further, this rodeo will be one people won’t want to miss in 2021.” Since there has been a shortage of WRCA-sanctioned rodeos due to COVID-19, Rich and Morrison note that, if needed, Range Riders could hold another sanctioned ranch rodeo this fall. As the nation and world strive to get past COVID-19, hopefully all small and large rodeos, ropings and other West- ern heritage activities get back in the saddle. And let’s pray the ‘rona’s not going to be the burr that keeps it from happening. The Will Rogers Range Riders Foundation supports the Black Stallion Literacy Program, Camp Alphie, ADVO, Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch, area 4-H Clubs, student scholarships, Type One Diabetes Area Support, other local charities and individuals affected by crisis. To donate, visit https://www. wrrangeriders.com/wrrr-foundation/.  Bustin' broncs ain't easy.