|
|
|
Earlier this year, a national livestock organization that tackles a wide range of important issues moved its headquarters to Colorado Springs.
“At the end of 2008, the board of the National Institute of Animal Agriculture wanted to change the management structure, and they hired us to manage the association on a contract basis,” said Scott Stuart, who is also the president of the National Livestock Producers Association, a national consortium of livestock marketing co-ops and credit corporations.
He calls the organization a “who’s who of animal agriculture.” The membership roster includes more than 40 companies and organizations as well as veterinarians, producers and other individuals.
One of the things the institute is best known for is the ID Info Expo, a national conference and trade show where vendors show off the latest in animal tracking technology. This year’s event is scheduled Aug. 25-27, at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City. The theme is “meeting consumer and government demands.”
On-line registration is available at www.animalagriculture.org.
“Our planning committee is working on making it very interactive,” Stuart said of the one-of-a-kind showcase. “We will be exploring where ID is at — I don’t think that’s been answered in a national forum ever. The Secretary of Agriculture has been invited to discuss what he has learned from a series of National Animal ID listening sessions. We will be looking at barriers and opportunities to ID and how we can integrate more of the systems that are already out there.”
A trade show will feature the latest gadgetry. “In the last few years, it’s really surprising how much the technology has changed,” Stuart added.
Last year NIAA skipped putting on the ID Info Expo as a freestanding event, instead incorporating it as a one-day workshop within the framework of the group’s annual conference. But now with no fewer than five pieces of federal legislation proposed that address food traceability, the topic is timely, and the old format is being resumed.
Beyond taking a leading role on animal ID issues, the National Institute for Animal Agriculture provides a forum for “collaboration” and “consensus building” among the beef, dairy, swine, sheep, goats, equine and poultry industries, and provides continuing education on a wide range of issues, the officials said.
Stuart estimates that about half of the organization’s resources are spent on animal health and disease management. Other priorities include promotion of a safe and healthy food supply, environmental stewardship and animal welfare, many of which tend to overlap with one another.
The organization has a long history, dating back 90 years to when it was started in the Chicago Stockyards to improve the health and handling of live cattle. Its name and location has changed over the years but during that time it has managed to accrue considerable credibility within the federal agriculture department.
Stuart was invited to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s office with 25 others in the early days of the new administration to discuss the National ID program and also testified at a listening session held in Loveland in June. He says there are smart people within USDA but his main concern right now is that the agency doesn’t lose its traditional focus on production agriculture.
Wearing many hats
The National Livestock Producers Association only earns about 12 percent of its operating budget from association dues. In recent years, the NLPA has won contracts to administer other outside programs, including the popular Beefmobile for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which was suspended last year due to budget constraints. Director of Operations Scharee Atchison points out that the association also has federal grants to run two animal disease education programs: the National Johne’s Education Initiative and the National Scrapie Education Initiative. The association maintains websites for each and provides printed informational materials.
Both Atchison and Stuart estimate that they spend about 30 percent of their time on the NIAA. Katie Ambrose handles NIAA memberships and event sponsorships on a full-time basis. In addition to the three staff members, outside professionals are sometimes hired on contract.
The National Livestock Producers moved to Colorado Springs from Denver 12 years ago, in part to take advantage of the affordable local airport and quality of life factors. Fifteen months ago the association moved out of a rented office in the south part of town and bought a new condominium in Glen Eagle near the Air Force Academy, where they expect to be housed for the foreseeable future.
Now, NIAA has found a home there too, which will bring some additional industry leaders into town for occasional meetings.
The NIAA staff says the ID Info Expo is being held in Kansas City because it is centrally located for the convenience of members across the country. Kansas City will also be the site of the next NIAA annual conference in March of 2010. Earlier this year, NIAA held the 2009 annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky, which was then home to the group’s headquarters.
The organization’s new presence here is an exciting opportunity for Colorado Springs.
“This organization has a strong and very involved board,” Stuart said. “It was a big decision, and in some ways a tough action, to make the change in management. But now we are all looking toward the future.”
Earlier this year, a national livestock organization that tackles a wide range of important issues moved its headquarters to Colorado Springs.
“At the end of 2008, the board of the National Institute of Animal Agriculture wanted to change the management structure, and they hired us to manage the association on a contract basis,” said Scott Stuart, who is also the president of the National Livestock Producers Association, a national consortium of livestock marketing co-ops and credit corporations.
He calls the organization a “who’s who of animal agriculture.” The membership roster includes more than 40 companies and organizations as well as veterinarians, producers and other individuals.
One of the things the institute is best known for is the ID Info Expo, a national conference and trade show where vendors show off the latest in animal tracking technology. This year’s event is scheduled Aug. 25-27, at the Westin Crown Center in Kansas City. The theme is “meeting consumer and government demands.”
On-line registration is available at www.animalagriculture.org.
“Our planning committee is working on making it very interactive,” Stuart said of the one-of-a-kind showcase. “We will be exploring where ID is at — I don’t think that’s been answered in a national forum ever. The Secretary of Agriculture has been invited to discuss what he has learned from a series of National Animal ID listening sessions. We will be looking at barriers and opportunities to ID and how we can integrate more of the systems that are already out there.”
A trade show will feature the latest gadgetry. “In the last few years, it’s really surprising how much the technology has changed,” Stuart added.
Last year NIAA skipped putting on the ID Info Expo as a freestanding event, instead incorporating it as a one-day workshop within the framework of the group’s annual conference. But now with no fewer than five pieces of federal legislation proposed that address food traceability, the topic is timely, and the old format is being resumed.
Beyond taking a leading role on animal ID issues, the National Institute for Animal Agriculture provides a forum for “collaboration” and “consensus building” among the beef, dairy, swine, sheep, goats, equine and poultry industries, and provides continuing education on a wide range of issues, the officials said.
Stuart estimates that about half of the organization’s resources are spent on animal health and disease management. Other priorities include promotion of a safe and healthy food supply, environmental stewardship and animal welfare, many of which tend to overlap with one another.
The organization has a long history, dating back 90 years to when it was started in the Chicago Stockyards to improve the health and handling of live cattle. Its name and location has changed over the years but during that time it has managed to accrue considerable credibility within the federal agriculture department.
Stuart was invited to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s office with 25 others in the early days of the new administration to discuss the National ID program and also testified at a listening session held in Loveland in June. He says there are smart people within USDA but his main concern right now is that the agency doesn’t lose its traditional focus on production agriculture.
Wearing many hats
The National Livestock Producers Association only earns about 12 percent of its operating budget from association dues. In recent years, the NLPA has won contracts to administer other outside programs, including the popular Beefmobile for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which was suspended last year due to budget constraints. Director of Operations Scharee Atchison points out that the association also has federal grants to run two animal disease education programs: the National Johne’s Education Initiative and the National Scrapie Education Initiative. The association maintains websites for each and provides printed informational materials.
Both Atchison and Stuart estimate that they spend about 30 percent of their time on the NIAA. Katie Ambrose handles NIAA memberships and event sponsorships on a full-time basis. In addition to the three staff members, outside professionals are sometimes hired on contract.
The National Livestock Producers moved to Colorado Springs from Denver 12 years ago, in part to take advantage of the affordable local airport and quality of life factors. Fifteen months ago the association moved out of a rented office in the south part of town and bought a new condominium in Glen Eagle near the Air Force Academy, where they expect to be housed for the foreseeable future.
Now, NIAA has found a home there too, which will bring some additional industry leaders into town for occasional meetings.
The NIAA staff says the ID Info Expo is being held in Kansas City because it is centrally located for the convenience of members across the country. Kansas City will also be the site of the next NIAA annual conference in March of 2010. Earlier this year, NIAA held the 2009 annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky, which was then home to the group’s headquarters.
The organization’s new presence here is an exciting opportunity for Colorado Springs.
“This organization has a strong and very involved board,” Stuart said. “It was a big decision, and in some ways a tough action, to make the change in management. But now we are all looking toward the future.”
