10/21/2025
Sharing from Jack Payne
Dr Shawn Baker is largely responsible for the massive increase in recent beef demand with his carnivore diet research and promotion. He single handedly promoted more beef consumption than $100s of millions of our checkoff dollars did since NCBA (National Cattlemen's Beef Association) started taxing us back in the 80s or early 90s. Our "beef promotion" funds went to pay for their fancy office in Washington DC where NCBA lobbies against MCOOL, against breaking up the packer monopolies, against the Anti-Trust laws in the Packers and Stockyards Act, for Mandatory Electronic Animal ID and for the whole "cows are bad for the environment" BS through their "Carbon Neutrality by 2030" pledge. They used our money thru their crooked "implement fee" scam to control politicians with campaign donations and endorsemens. The Kool-aid cowboys will say they "don't use checkoff funds to lobby" but what they don't tell you is they charge $5 million to "implement" a $5 million dollar AR. So they just skimmed $5 million off the top to spend however they desire. Exactly like USAID and all these NGO's do. Skimming off the top.
I know many of you get tired of hearing me beat on the dead horse of NCBA but with all the recent uproar of President Trump's comments about lowering the price of beef, I think it's important to remind folks how we got here. There's a reason America can no longer feed itself, there's a reason we are no longer the "cattle kings" If we identify the problem maybe we can avoid making the same mistakes the next forty years that we've been making the last 40. Ironically, here we sit, ALL HAT AND NO COWS thanks to the boots-suits and clean hat crowd at NCBA.
NCBA gets checkoff funds on imported beef at the tune $1.00 for every 600 pounds. They are as pro-import as anyone can be because it's more money in their pockets.
I see lots of comments on social media how Trump is "ruining the cattle business". Last I checked the cattle business is pretty damn good. It's really good because only a few have survived the decades of low profitability. This started decades ago and it won't be fixed overnight. Am I disappointed in Trump's comments about lowering beef and Argentina? Yes I am, but I don't want to hang an innocent man, I want the industry to remember and acknowledge who really got us here and hopefully we can reverse the trends and not make the same mistakes again. Listed below are ideas that will help rebuild our beef sovereignty and national security through food security.
#1 implement MCOOL
#2 eliminate Mandatory Electronic Animal ID
#3 no more paid lobbyists in DC working.
against American Cattlemen.
#4 Tax breaks for livestock producers.
#5 Reform the checkoff and take it away from NCBA
#6 Open up both CRP and Public land for grazing
#7 eliminate Endangered Species Act so we can eradicate these wolves and stop using Lahonton Cutt Throat Trout, Sage Grouse, Jumping Mice, Desert Tortoises and more as tools to eliminate the ranchers from the lands they stewart
#9 Follow the Wild Horse and B***o Act or implement something better
#10 Revitalize our small independent meat processing industry. Including removing the overburdensome inspection process. It's obvious this inspection process has been designed by previous USDA administrators to eliminate our small processors for the benefit of the big 4. AJ Richards
#11 Get American beef back in our schools, hospitals, and old folks homes.
#12 Raise borrowing limits at Farm Service Agency from $600,000 to $6 million. $600,000 won't buy a lot in town these days.
#13 Get us a hotline or website to report abusive predatory government employees and terminate them if sufficient evidence is provided
#14 Start an initiative for ranchers to select for functional beef genetics instead of selecting for large carcasses that grade at a younger age. Bos Sires
#15 Eliminate the silly USDA 30 month rule that allows $100s of millions annually to be stolen from our cattle feeders because of a disease in a foreign country 22 years ago.
#16 Implement "use it or lose it" policy for public lands to stop Nature Conservancy and others from basically retiring allotments Hayden Ballard
#17 No USDA subsidized payments for anyone not "actively in the cattle business". This would help younger producers be able to afford ranches again. Under today's system, rich guys are buying up the ranches for the rain insurance and the tax depreciation savings. Only way young producers can get a ranch is to inherit or marry one.
I could go on and on with ways We can incentive the American cattle producers but the biggest help would be to get the government out of the way. Everything I have listed eliminates government meddling in our business. Less government employees equals more freedom for Americans
Thank you for your attention to this matter
Jack Payne
Nevada Livestock Marketing
Fallon Nevada
[email protected]
