CHAIRMAN'S  MESSAGE

The other day, I had a fellow ask me a question that really got me thinking. He asked if any of our members had sat down for a week and noted how many times they used TCFA. How many times they had looked at an M-Net screen or printout for market information. How many times they had called looking for market information or with a question on a regulatory matter. Or safety. Or gleaned a piece of interesting and important information from the weekly Newsletter. Or asked about insurance or labor or media relations or any of the many other areas of expertise that the TCFA staff possesses.

I think we would all be amazed if we knew how extensively and deeply TCFA touches the cattle feeding industry in Cattle Feeding Country of Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. And as a result, how often TCFA touches each one of us.

We enter the 21st Century with a lot of optimism and a lot of questions.

Cattle numbers appear to have finally tightened. The cattle market finally looks to have turned the corner. But in the midst of that, we're faced with challenges-a new era in marketing cattle and beef and the need, more than ever, to reach out to our consumers not just with the message that we produce safe and wholesome beef, but that we do so in a manner that is friendly to the environment and humane to the animals we care for.

It won't be easy. But it starts with each one of us looking at the trends in our business and deciding how we can adjust to a new era. It's comforting to know we have a strong organization that can lead us, can represent us with the legislators, the regulators and most importantly, the consumers.

I think it's phenomenal that nearly every feedyard in our region belongs to TCFA. That's almost unheard of and speaks pretty well of our organization. That foundation of strength will serve us well and often in the years ahead. 

There's no doubt that our future will be positive as well as challenging and there's no doubt that we'll have to be flexible and creative in our thinking and in our businesses. But we're members of an Association that has a long history of serving its members, that has developed an incredible amount of expertise in dealing with the issues that will shape our industry. Let's use TCFA as a help and a guide as we work toward the future.

Sincerely,

Jim Waterfield, Chairman