ANCW President Urges Ranchers to be Proactive

At last week's Washington Cattlemen's Convention the American National CattleWomen President urged ranchers to participate in their respective organizations.

Barbara Jackson, who graduated from Washington State University with a degree in Animal Science, grew up in the beef industry. Her family owns and operates Red Rock Feeding Company -- a 30,000 head feedyard -- in Southern Arizona. She said

Jackson: "To be proactive. There is so much facing this industry -- whether it is government regulation, or trade issues or environment issues or animal activists issues -- to everyone be engaged. There are different organizations within the cattle industry -- some of them have policy differences -- that's fine this is a great country -- we can both decide to do what we want. But just to be at the table and participate. There is so few of us in production agriculture -- less than 2 percent of our country's population -- and I mean farmers, cattle -- all agriculture. We've got to come together with a common voice and common thread or we can't exist the way we'd like to."

Jackson is a second generation ANCW President as her mother, Pat Stevenson, served as the President in 1970.