6 Nebraska Cattleman October 2023 The Nebraska Cattleman magazine is published for and by the Nebraska Cattlemen association. PRODUCTION BluePrint Media LLC (970) 498-9306 PO Box 427 | Timnath, CO 80547 Editor | Lisa Bard Managing Editor | Jessie Topp-Becker Copy Editor | Larisa Willrett Designer | Megan Sajbel Field Materials Coordinator | Megan Sajbel Field Administration | Leslie McKibben CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Bill Coe | Kristian Rennert Meghan Anderson | Bob Rooney STATE | REGIONAL ADVERTISING Amber Coleman Mobile (402) 340-1588 acoleman@necattlemen.org NATIONAL ADVERTISING The Powell Group | Wendy McFarland (334) 271-6100 4162-B Carmichael Ct. Montgomery, AL 36106 LINCOLN 4611 Cattle Drive | Lincoln, NE 68521 (402) 475-2333 | NCmag@necattlemen.org LAKESIDE 1179 296th Trail | Lakeside, NE 69351 (308) 760-6464 Nebraska Cattleman is published monthly, except for May and July, by the Nebraska Cattlemen, 4611 Cattle Drive, Lincoln, NE 68521 – (402) 475-2333. Manuscripts and advertisements are welcome. Nebraska Cattlemen reserves the right to edit and refuse advertisements. Readers are welcome to submit letters to the editor. Full name and address of writer must accompany all letters. Letters are accepted with the understanding that they may be condensed to fit the magazine format and edited for accuracy and clarity. Letters contain the opinion of the writer and not that of the Nebraska Cattlemen. Nebraska Cattleman You can get Nebraska Cattleman via email. Receive each issue even before the Post O ice ships the printed edition. Just send an email to us at NCmag@necattlemen.org and put “Email NC Magazine” in the subject line. We assure you we will not share your email address with anyone! Please visit our website www.nebraskacattlemen.org EVP Perspective By Laura Field NC Executive Vice President Resilience Resilience. The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Agriculture producers know a little about resilience. Toughness is certainly an accurate synonym, and when challenges arise, ranchers and farmers are known to rise to the occasion and meet those challenges head-on. I’ve reminded myself many times over the past few months to stop saying “challenge” and refer to those things in the path as “opportunities.” Digging into that toughness and finding ways to be resilient while making the most of each situation needs to be the focus. Nebraska livestock producers had their resiliency challenged as the summer of 2023 ended with some of the hottest temperatures on record in Nebraska. Actual temperatures and heat indexes exceeded 105° F for days at a time. Weather is something even the keenest meteorologists cannot always predict, and Nebraska weather can certainly pack a powerful punch at almost any time of the year. Winters can bring blizzards and bitter cold, spring can roar in with flooding. Summer days can be hot and humid and, as football games start in the fall, it is usually important to bring layers to games while transitioning from hot to cool. And in every season, the wind is certainly likely to gust. One early morning in the late summer, I took a call at the office from a young veterinarian inquiring about resources Nebraska Cattlemen might have available for her to share with clients. Ahead of the heat, our staff worked to compile and share resources about caring for livestock and humans, which we added to and updated as the weather persisted. After days of making calls in the brutal weather, I could hear the compassion and care in her voice. I knew she was tired after days of visiting operations and working with producers to handle some tough situations, and yet she made it a priority to be a voice for her clients. She knew we were working with leaders and decision makers, and it was important to her that the facts were relayed in a clear and matter-of-fact way. Toughness, grit, resilience – she was all of those things and many more! As more and more calls and messages came into the office in the late summer, Nebraska Cattlemen members and staff worked with Gov. Jim Pillen to share information and data regarding disaster relief payments available through the federal government. By giving a voice to the perspective of Nebraska’s cattle producers, elected officials in Nebraska carried the message forward, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced it would be increasing payments for loss under the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) for 2023. This was incredibly welcome news as these changes will help producers who suffered losses recover better by receiving payments that are more reflective of the current cattle market prices. These payments were effective in September CONTINUED ON PAGE 49 I’ve reminded myself many times over the past few months to stop saying “challenge” and refer to those things in the path as “opportunities.”
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