This past week I had the pleasure of attending the 85th annual Washington Cattlemen's and Cattle Women's Associations Convention. A number of important issues were on the agenda, covering topics such as animal identification and traceability, endangered species issues and the challenges faced by ranchers regarding Washington's wolf plan, the rising price of corn, and untaxed farm fuel; and that just scratches the surface. Even with all these highly charged issues being at the forefront I was struck with the fact that here was a group of people without pretense, real people who are truly passionate about what they do; and while obviously working hard to promote their industry, are at the same time reaching out to not only educate the consumer but help those in need through such programs as Beef Counts, where the Washington beef industry supplies much needed protein to the hungry by way of nutritious beef donated to the Second Harvest Foodbank network. Too often we hear negative press about cattle ranchers. What we don't and should hear is that these are dedicated men and women who not only care about their product but about the people who buy that product as well.
