Page 6 - November 2020 WCA Ketch Pen

HEADQUARTERS
From Your President
6
As WCA moves into a new year with new officers, our members continue to be challenged by many issues. Fires, brand, wolves, markets, all of which come back to one common denominator, dollars. I know that people in this business are resilient, but if you are a producer that is affected by all these at once it is extremely challenging financially and mentally. I am very proud of our beef community, especially our county presidents and their agents for the outpouring of support to producers affected by the recent fires. Ashley House, our new Executive Vice President, has been instrumental in coordinating donations and resources through the WCA and getting them out to our producers. We, as the WCA are proud of this ongoing effort.
I will soon be turning the WCA Presidency over to a new officer. The challenges have been many, but the rewards have been abundant (read my wife’s article). Our beef community is filled with solid, good hearted, honest people. While we face many challenges, we do it with integrity. While we have made headway working with many government agencies, we still have a long way to go. Our organization has many contacts, and
will continue, with Ashley’s efforts, to keep the pressure on to manage public lands, promote the value of
our product, protect private property rights and protect and enhance our markets with the goal of keeping our producers in business. Lawsuits currently filed, while against the Forest Service, have the potential to negatively affect many producers. This is a major challenge the WCA is currently facing. I am leaving the WCA in good hands and I will continue to be available to help the new president as he sees fit. As a past county president, committee chairman, co-chair, I’ve always had the deepest appreciation and respect for the WCA President. I thought I knew what they were going through and quickly found out I had no idea. This job has been, and will continue to be extremely challenging, yet at the same time extremely rewarding. I feel proud and honored that you have allowed me to get to represent you, get to know you and call you my friend.
Wishing all the best,
Ketch Pen www.washingtoncattlemen.org
November 2020