Missouri cattlemen travel to Washington

Volunteer leaders of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Annual Legislative Conference. Missouri leaders joined with cattle producers from across the country to visit with elected leaders about policy priorities at the federal level.

MCA President Greg Buckman; MCA Region 3 Vice President Charlie Besher; MCA Region 7 Vice President Traves Merrick; NCBA Region 3 Vice President Clint Berry; and Missouri Junior Cattlemen’s Association President Rayne Faulconer attended the conference.

“Meeting face-to-face with our elected leaders in Washington, D.C., is absolutely critical,” said Buckman. “We meet frequently with leaders in Jefferson City, but we cannot forget about Washington.”

The MCA leaders discussed the several issues, including the Electronic Logging Device mandate, Endangered Species Act, trade and the 2018 Farm Bill.

MCA leaders also met with several regulatory agencies, including the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

“This is the first time I can remember in all of my years being involved with MCA and NCBA where I met with officials from FMCSA. They don’t understand us and we don’t really understand them,” said Buckman. “Our hope is that our concerns about the ELD mandate were heard. We spent a lot of time explaining our industry. Hauling live animals is much different than hauling inanimate objects.”