40 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN March 2026 This year, CattleCon broke the all-time event attendance record with more than 9,400 attendees. Why did CattleCon break attendance records? Is it the location, the music or maybe the immaculate food scene? While there are many reasons for producers and stakeholders to attend CattleCon, in my humble opinion, we can’t shy away from the fact that the beef industry is seeing a significant increase in both national and international attention. For producers, beef prices, the cost of production and industry trends are always front of mind, but it’s not every day you see outlets like MSNBC attempting to cover the nuances of the beef cattle lifecycle, cattle markets and why our product is a bargaining chip in geopolitics. Tariffs and trade aside, the ag lobby is getting used to throwing around the term “skinny Farm Bill,” our country just made it to the other side of the longest federal government shutdown in history (43 days to be exact) and let’s not forget the threat of New World screwworm knocking on our southern border. I know we’re all sick of the word “unprecedented” being slapped in front of every subject, so let’s just say we’re living through interesting times in the beef industry and the CattleCon attendance record is proof that people are feeling it. If there is one thing cattlemen and women do best, it’s show up to get the job done no matter the circumstances, and team NC did just that. We had several key victories throughout CattleCon 2026: • NC won the NCBA Region 7 Top Hand Award for recruiting more NCBA members than any other affiliate in our region. • NC member Wine Glass Ranch won the NCBA Region 7 and the National Environmental Stewardship Awards. • NC joined forces with Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association to usher through crucial Livestock Risk Protection policy. ~NC~ NEBRASKA CATTLEMEN STAYS WINNING IN NASHVILLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38 LRP POLICY TARALEE HUDSON | NC DIRECTOR OF PRODUCER RELATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT Nebraska Cattlemen, in partnership with the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, jointly submitted a resolution to the NCBA Live Cattle Marketing Committee regarding expansion of existing price risk management tools, specifically Livestock Risk Protection (LRP), to include coverage options for bred cows, bred heifers and cull beef cows. The resolution received unanimous approval in committee and was later adopted by the full membership with no opposition. As written, it directs NCBA staff to promptly assemble a task force to develop and submit specific recommendations to USDA’s Risk Management Agency concerning the timely development of effective, well-researched insurance products. This follows the adoption of similar policy at the state level during the NC Annual Convention this past December. NC membership recognizes that retaining existing breeding inventories and developing new breeding stock are essential to the expansion and long-term sustainability of the U.S. beef cow herd, but also acknowledges the significant investment as a barrier to market entry and the exposure to multi-year price risk as potentially limiting factors in herd expansion. Given the widespread adoption of LRP-Feeder Cattle and LRP-Fed Cattle, along with the existing LRP coverage available for cull dairy cows, the need for additional risk management tools to protect bred cow, bred heifer and cull beef cow prices is important. The Beef State is ready to represent at CattleCon 2026, standing around NCBA President Buck Wehrbein, seated in front. Standing, front row left to right, are Terri Uden, Patty Goes, Madyson and Michelle Culter, Mike Drinnin, George Cooksley, Quentin Dailey, and Jaclyn and Blaine Wilson. Standing, back row left to right, are Craig Uden, John Schroeder, Marshall Hansen, Eric Hansen, Troy Stowater, Dick Pierce, Jeff Stolle and TaraLee Hudson. NC President Craig Uden sits within reach of Dusty Holley, executive vice president of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association, during the NCBA-PAC auction at CattleCon 2026.
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