Special Report

Record attendance expected

Based on pre-registrations, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is projecting more than seven-thousand people could attend the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville.

If that happens, it would break the 1998 Centennial Convention record.

NCBA communications director Mike Deering says that is representative of the overall enthusiasm and optimism in the U.S. cattle industry.  And Deering believes some of that enthusiasm stems from NCBA’s 2011 policy successes.

“In an administration where “regulatory rampage” was a common phrase that we used, we were able to push back and take the steam out of the GIPSA rule—and push back on EPA doubling the stringency of the current dust standard,” Deering says. “We were also able to push back on the Department of Transportation from requiring cattlemen to have commercial drivers’ licenses.”

Deering says high domestic demand and projected record exports for 2012 also have cattlemen excited about the months ahead.

Of course, record cattle prices and a very open winter in most parts of the country are supporting the positive mood as well.