And Now I'm A Nerd

Another post I uncovered which had not been published, this one from 2013 I believe. Today Chris Chinn is a household name in Missouri agriculture. I do believe Ag Chat Foundation had great intentions, I've lost track of this group as my focus turned towards the battle I was encountering within my very own industry...those joining forces with the enemy- the very groups trying to destroy us. Property rights battles have raged on many fronts and that has become my focus, but it takes us all to win this war on American ag. I am not taking the time to tweek this piece, just publishing it like I wrote it several years ago.

I’ve been on Twitter for about 6 months but haven’t utilized it to any extent, especially not via my phone (Tweeting). This week all of that changed. I jumped into the deep end with a lot of tech savvy “Social Media Ag Nerds" (that's a compliment)

In March of last year, Ag Chat Foundation was founded by Michele Payn-Knopper and 7 other individuals, including 26 board members with a mission to encourage the agriculture family to tell their stories, and share their passion. The core message of this diversified ag group; “It doesn’t matter the size of our operations or the commodities raised, agriculture has a common goal- we provide food, fiber and fuel to the world and we must unite and tell our positive stories instead of allowing anti-ag groups to continue to portray us negatively”.
This past week I met with around 50 other social media agriculture individuals from across the nation in a training session designed to empower us to tell our positive ag stories. On the third Tuesday of each month Ag Chat meets online to discuss issues facing our ag industry.
Following is just a glimpse into the presentations by a few of speakers who urged us to create a road map for agriculture’s success.
Jeff - 4th Generation Beef, Equine Producer
Jeff reminded us that we all have a story, and we need to use that passion to tell our positive ag stories. He reminded us that we are inundated with technology but what keeps us “special” is humanity. Passion for our industry distinguishes us from the anti animal ag sector. Passion and emotion for out industry can’t be bought; activists can’t take that away from us. He encouraged us to indentify our own talents and utilize social media tools we are most comfortable using. Two questions Jeff told us to ask ourselves;
“What are our objectives?” and “What do we want on our road maps?”
Chris- 5th Generation Hog Producer
“Our nation’s food security depends on agriculturists telling our own stories.” This was Chris’ message who also stated that we had gathered this week because of agriculture; we’re not all alike but we share a commonality…Survival of Agriculture. She shared personal stories that had affected her family’s life, including death threats when her family began construction of a more humane, efficient confined hog facility in their community. Thinking that the rural ag community understood agriculture, they chose not to confront negative media coverage which ranged from individuals who said they’d witnessed manure being dumped into local water, witnessed it coming out of their faucets and a local individual’s need to wear a mask when going outside of her home because of the stench… these reports being expressed before any hogs were confined on the property. Chris shared the fact that her family had missed the mark by allowing someone else to tell their version of their story. The public was misinformed by the fact that her family had been scared to tell their story. All of that has changed. Today they use social media, T.V. and local tours of their operation to portray the image they want portrayed.
Chris explained another wake up call to tell ag’s story sharing other experiences while sitting in on National EPA meetings. These stories included a vegetarian thinking it was O.K. to eat chicken wings because “they grew back” to conversations with a U.S. Ag liaison to the EPA stating that if Chris really cared about her pigs she would have left them in the care of a spa similar to the one she’d arranged for her dog, After Chris asked the ag representative to explain a “puppy spa”, since their were none in her rural community, the woman explained that the spa included a Safari theme room, personalized menus, phone calls to the owner and choices of shampoos.
Today Chris faces more negative ag issues including her school district’s decision to incorporate “meatless Wednesdays” and addressing issues such as the fact that animal activist’s videos are contributing to young “ tween” (ages 10-12) girl’s decision to become vegetarians.
This is only a glimpse into the seminar; there were many other speakers who shared abundant knowledge, great ideas and informative messages.

Summarization Tips and FYI
• PCRM is the Health and Awareness arm of PETA ( we were given charts showing the connection of all animal activists and their names and acronyms)
• We must throw ourselves on stage, someone has to do it (tell ag’s story) no one else will do it for us.
• We need to express ourselves individually with a unified consistent message.
• Before we can tell our story, we must have a message they can trust, consumers must trust the messenger.
• Ways we can increase trust in mainstream Americans (1) Education (show them we care) (2) Communicate honesty (3)Show transparency- Be Yourself.
• Show consumers that we’re striving to provide safe, affordable food for not only our families but theirs as well.(this isn’t extreme, we’re already doing it.
• We are actually speaking to Middle America; we aren’t going to change the extremist, so we must educate those Americans who don’t want to feel guilty about what they’re purchasing for their families to consume.
• Once we educate consumers about us, they will not only understand agriculture but they will probably appreciate what we do for them; today they’re just misinformed by our lack of informing them.
• We must not think of our conversations with them as arguments but as chances for discussions to explain what we do. We want to have conversations not a fight.
• An interesting study has shown consumers weren’t so concerned about feeding the world as they were about feeding the U.S.
• In creating messages that work, positive value based communication works best: Be positive (know what drives your passion), Be genuine.
• In Social Media- listen to understand where the person is coming from then use a value based commonality to engage with them instead of using an “educating” attempt to get your message across. Ask yourself what do we both “share” in common?
• Build a foundation of Goodwill. Be proactive instead of reactive.
• It’s important to “read’ your audience, talk about your strengths, and measure your response with what they actually know about the subject you are discussing. Listen 80%, talk 20%.
• It’s important to “Connect Ag’s Good” inject it in conversations every chance you get. (for example, “I know John Brown and they’re good stewards of their animals.”) Look for opportunities to “Give Ag a Boost.”
• In using pictures in your Social Media avenues; studies showed consumers loved pictures with family on the farm vs feedlot pictures. In picture taking and in hosting public events make sure your farm, ranch, cars, people, animals are at the ir“best.”
• Interesting research showed that consumers thought farmers were men, they thought they were nurturing and they thought they were caring.
• They had images that we work hard; they want to trust us and thought we protect our families.
• There’s been a gap in consumer’s perception of what we do, and anti-ag has been filling the gap with how they want to portray us. We must bridge that gap with our positive image of agriculture.

This is just a glimpse of what I learned at the Ag Chat Foundation 2.0 Seminar. I can’t begin to explain it all. Please tune into Social Media’s Ag Chat on the third Tuesday of each month and engage. You’ll love meeting these great Ag Advocates. Relationships will be made and strong bonds created ensuring Ag’s survival.

"I wrote this post in Sept of 2014...just came across it and noticed I hadn't published it guess I became sidetracked. We now have a new administration I'm hoping will stop some of this madness in it's tacks"

I do a lot of Facebook postings, nearly everyday.  I use it predominately   to educate fellow landowners and producers of the dangers of losing their private property rights.  We are losing those rights and most grassroots landowners are unaware of the incremental, strategic, dismantling going on under their noses.  These postings appear to be all over the place and I apologize. but you understand if you're keeping up with the multitude of attacks on producers of " once upon a time "... affordable food... aka land owners, animal owners, water owners/users, air inhalers, methane expellers (cattle- any way that's what the Climate Hub "consultant" revealed in the OETA Horizon clip I shared yesterday), dust stirring, antibiotic administering (to save the food supply---we're suppose to vaccinate kids but not cattle?), cattle branding (to keep track of the food supply) criminals...or so it would seem in the eyes of this administration.  Whether the tool being used is the unattainable "sustainable triple bottom line "HSUS whose MO is not limited to emotion triggering advertisements to garner funds to advance their agenda but also undercover videos and the long arm of government agencies such as EPA, ESA, NRCS, DOJ, HUD, HHS (see their 100  Point Change Agenda below for a complete list)   Advancers...implementers ...consultants... facilitators....navigators are all being used to regulate and enforce this central control agenda which will destroy private property rights. The food supply is only one of the resource areas being destroyed or controlled: health care, education, energy, media, banking, transportation. Those advancing this Marxist style agenda will not be satisfied until they bring home a trophy inscribed  "1st Place"  America Freedom Resource Destroyer.

From the threatened and endangered Lesser Prairie Chicken, Long Eared Bat, Arkansas Shiner and the other several thousand ES listings to the 7 National Climate Hubs recently unveiled these ideas, groups, programs, individuals are all pawns, programs and processes in an elaborately evil designed scheme to destroy America's affordable food supply or control it take your pick by stripping private property rights.

Yes, I am all over the place; producers deal with each area under attack. .

Why does this matter to you? When America's producers can't profitably produce  they go out of business (thousands of pork and poultry producers have already vanished due to overreaching regulations...this happened while America slept or watched Twilight)  when they go out of business food costs rise, when food costs rise you have to stop spending in other areas so you can have enough money to feed your family...food is pretty important especially affordable food.  Food prices have risen dramatically in the last few years due to these overreaching regulations...add a drought, fuel/ equipment/repair costs sky rocketing and America's food producers disappear.  Refresh your memory of how food sources are destroyed with a peek back at the Valley Hope Forgot you can find it on YouTube.  Why am I regurgitating this mantra...this same information?  It matters to you...it is what is incrementally dismantling America's food supply. Those waging war against our freedom aren't carrying fire arms instead they implement agendas, thoughts, ideas;  inject words, twist meanings, change legislation:  Climate Change, Global Warming, Climate Hubs, Sustainability, Triple Bottom Line, Socially Acceptable, Environmentally Acceptable, Best Available Science, Best Management Practices, Modern, Human Capital...all verbiage designed to destroy freedom and America's affordable food supply and freedom.  

I will continue to share four links with you: (1) Coverage on the 92 page senate report revealing the Billionaire's Club Scandal and connection to Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund, Nature's Conservancy and EPA's overreaching regulations and I will add HSUS because they are tied to these organizations.  Why? Because this report could stop the entire mess, all of the regulations on producers could be terminated, the Climate Hubs stopped; however our Ag media has failed to report on it. It is covered extensively in the mainstream media but controlling forces it appears have halted the coverage within the agriculture realm. Why? Because some of these groups are actively involved in some of our industry organization's decision making.  Certain Ag media has been used to propagandize this global, sustainable, socially acceptable, green agenda and it needs to stop it is detrimental to American producer's ability to produce.  (2) Coverage on the Climate Hubs.  Wilkow's link that I've been sharing does the best job at connecting all of these attacks to the 10 Planks of Communism. http://fentonteaparty.com/FPA/?p=788 These hubs are agenda driven and are designed to create regulations determined through research. This research "with a twist" will ultimately become the norm, set precedence be required practices for farmers and ranchers.  The data and information gathered will be filtered down through the NRCS.  This info is tied to the Farm Bill (Conservation Portion) and they will do everything in their power to nudge us into abiding by the research. (3) I will continue to share a piece by the Noble Foundation that explains the climate hubs.  This piece shows the confusion and questions that accompany these hubs; many unfamiliar terms with opened ended meanings allow for as a friend lawyer said after reading it, "do whatever they want to do". (4) Joan Veon's Youtube video on Public Private Partnerships.  This video reveals why this is all happening.  Partnerships between the federal government-Public- in the form of USDA, ESA, EPA etc. and large corporations -Private- (global companies such as  John Deere, Gates Foundation etc. and  extreme environmental groups with an agenda WWF, Sierra Club etal) have created a way for destructive  agendas to be driven through changes in legislation leaving the American producer adrift in burdensome regulations. 

American producer, landowner, feedlot owner, organization leader you must KNOW this stuff. Our kids and grandkids will not have a future if we refuse to connect these dots...hit this in a unified way and stop the destruction.

 

 I would say I would report on WOTUS as well but our organizations are unified on that issue and fighting tooth and nail to keep EPA's overreach of water rights at bay. We have until October 21st (I believe that is the deadline) to comment on Waters of the U.S. and would urge each and every citizen to do that...it affects all Americans not only farmers and ranchers.  If you have a low spot in your yard that holds water only once in a while, it will belong to the federal government under WOTUS...this affect you.

AND one more thought...If our ag industry organization leaders would form a loose coalition ...one that will not morph into a "self-licking" ice cream cone which we've seen happen in the past with many well intended coalitions…I have several in mind...and address the 92 page senate report/ EPA/ WWF/Sierra Club scandal together we could put EPA to bed and not have to worry about WOTUS.

Truth always surfaces.  Lies are always unveiled.

   http://city-sentinel.com/2014/09/global-peoples-climate-march-set-for-oklahoma-city-and-tulsa/

http://fentonteaparty.com/FPA/?p=788

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h62lSGK4Y8  Joan Veon

http://www.noble.org/ag/economics/grant-enhances-research/

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/30/republican-report-alleges-billionaires-club-funding-environmental-causes/

http://buddfalen.com/video-karen-budd-falen-discusses-property-rights-and-the-importance-of-the-u-s-constitution/

 

 

 

COOL Education -Country of Origin Labeling

R-Calf Convention Cheyenne, Wyoming provided the truth on country of origin labeling and education on real issues that affect not only beef producers but American consumers

Psst... read my lips

Well I've got my five minute Pro-Ag GMO Fracking Fossil Fuel presentation down, but need work on my 1 minute version. The story goes like this: After Brad's blood plasma injection in Loveland, CO we decided to visit Estes Park. Brad stayed at the room and I shopped a little. Some pretty hair barrettes caught my eye as I walked past a cute shop, so I turned around. I loved the little shop, I loved the little lady's attitude that ran the shop. As I was checking out I made the comment, "I guess since I don't go to the beauty shop I can afford to buy some sweet pricey little hair pieces - $15 a piece is pricey to me- she exclaimed that she shunned hair stylists too, trimmed her own braid from side to side with lop sided results ...just like me we laughed. I made the comment I was a rancher-farmer which she quietly sympathetically in almost a whisper said, "the good people, the wonderful people, not those "corporate farmers", then she unleashed on fracking and chemicals in food and said something about being a "purist" ...just like me. Whoa! That's when I realized we only had our hair in common. But it was closing time and I had already signed my John Henry and she was shuttling me out the door and I left bewildered that I had not corrected the misinformation. I needed the 1 minute presentation.
But then there was the encounter this morning.... We spent the night, I got up early headed to the motel lobby and started working on my presentation for a Colorado group on Sunday. As I sat in the tiny lobby trying to block the conversations of noise of the breakfast crowd, one conversation I could not help but overhear, one between two U.S. liberal citizens and three British tourists. I listened to the Brits explain their distrust of Trump and what they thought should be and the Americans agree and blah blah blah blah blah. After about five minutes I had all I could stand. As I strolled over nonchalantly to get another cup of coffee I stopped at their table and the five minute presentation kicked in. I introduced myself told them my occupation that those in my occupation fed them and the world, I shared the fact that if not for fossil fuels and fracking their trip to the U.S. would not have been possible, I shared that organic cannot feed the world, that Obama's regulations have destroyed our great nation and her food, fiber and fuel providers...btw they offered me a chair... lol... I accepted. I minced NO WORDS during that five minute educational rant and believe I made a few friends --- or maybe they were just afraid of me. The Brits all three shook my hand, one suggested that what I said reminded them of Brexit and how many were viewing Britain, I agreed. The two Americans just kept apologizing for bringing up politics. I thanked them for doing so..

Sweet Independence

I hope you've enjoyed your free weekend. I take so much free stuff for granted- the ability to enjoy my air conditioned home, electricity, my family, great food, ready transportation, a dish washer, washing machine and dryer ( I can't imagine living without them), so far I can attend the church of my choice, say pretty much whatever I want to say, keep my guns buy ammo for those guns all without fear of being molested---I said so far. It's up to us to keep this wonderfully awesome God given free stuff available for the next generation. I know in reality that nothing is free- someone had to pay. Today I am thanking the Lord for my forefathers and the time they set aside, the wisdom they possessed and the lives they gave that I might enjoy this day we call Independence Day.

Around the Ranch Table

NOTE: It really didn't hit me until I revived this blog that I did have a funny sense of humor and a pretty normal ranch woman life "before activism". Reading back through it I was sad to see my naivety and blind reliance on my old standby trusted ag organizations. I have even been able to pin point the day I realized I could no longer rely on these groups to be my voice, our voices weren't harmonizing; they were advancing globalism, centralized control and buddying up with radical groups as in the case of the NCBA partnering with the World Wildlife Fund. This path is completely opposite of what drives grassroots producers; individualism and personal choice. "Behind Ag's Green Mask" is devoted to connecting those dots. "Around the Ranch Table" will be my little safe place, a place to recapture some of the funny and enjoyable. I wrote this piece for our local newspaper which hasn't been published yet and it may not be, they've been very generous to allow me to publish my other column, I appreciate having a deadline though it's made me sit down and focus.


Welcome to
"Around the Ranch Table"

Enjoy Your Day Enjoy Your Journey

Several weeks ago I read an 1845 poem by Julia Carney, “Little Drops of Water”; I can’t get it out of my head.

Little drops of water,
little grains of sand,
make the mighty ocean
and the beauteous land.
And the little moments,
humble though they may be,
make the mighty ages
of eternity.


My grandad Lenard Chain always said, “You’ll be old before you know it”. He was right…well, I’m not that old but I know now what he meant. That’s why I’m wanting to write a sister column; to counter the “heavy negative” of Behind Ag’s Green Mask. I don’t want to wake up one day “old” and say, “Why didn’t I do more to share some good stuff like God’s word, some recipes, some funny stories etc.” That’s what I intend to do in this column. Before I was an activist I was a mom who baked tons of cookies, cakes and pies, fed hungry ball players, wiped a lot of noses and rears, gave spankings, slapped some taller than me back-talking teenage faces (that belonged to me), waited up nights for teenagers. Then one day I woke up with gray hair.

My "mom days" were filled with tons of parenting mistakes. But with Brad’s and the Lord’s help we raised four good kids who married four good spouses and today they’ve given us a gaggle of grandkids that we cherish and I spoil. It’s grandkids that put life into perspective, you slow down and prioritize because you know they’ll be gone in a blink.
Parenting mistakes, yummy family recipes, some scriptures-I promise I won’t preach- I want to share it all… hopefully leave you with a good laugh or a tug on your heartstring. Most of all I want to make the most of the time God has given me, I want to share what I’ve encountered and experienced to brighten and lighten someone’s load. Actually it’s therapy for me, I have to counter the negative of being an activist!
Harvest is in full swing and the women cook glorious meals for our men. Dianna, my sister-in-law cannot be outdone, she’s the master chef, the men don’t walk to her chow wagon; they run. But I do have my signature dishes, I can bake a pretty mean pie. This week I taught Mattie,my nine year old granddaughter, to bake a pie and whip up a batch of homemade noodles. I told her if you have flour, milk and eggs your family will never go hungry. This never-fail pie crust recipe comes from a Mennonite cookbook I’ve had for over 20 years, the cover is missing and the pages are stained and torn (always the sign of great recipes).

Simple Pie Crust
Cut 1 stick of butter into 1 cup flour, Add ¼ cup cold milk, dash of salt, knead lightly. Roll out onto floured board. Makes 2 nine inch crust. We doubled the recipe and it worked great. Hint: I use a marble board and rolling pin –they remain cold, an environment pasty appreciates. Also less flour is used on the marble board and this creates a flakier crust. Filling- Large Pie- Mix 1- 1 ½ cups sugar, 3 tbsp. flour with enough water to make a thick smooth paste and a dash of salt. Pour over fruit of your choice. Cover with top crust, Brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar. Bake 400 degrees until golden brown. Turn oven off, keep closed, let sit for half an hour. Next week…homemade noodles
24 hours in a day. It’s exciting to think we have all been allotted the same amount of “little drops of water and little grains of sand”, what will you create with yours this week?

Be Patient

Bear with me as I shorten and move my newspaper articles to this blog. I will be honest- I hate to blog. I can never remember my password, when I write the stinking thing is so slow that I forgot what I was posting, I'm just not good at it and I DO NOT HAVE THE TIME TO MESS WITH IT. But here I am again giving it one more shot. I like FB but my thoughts get lost there so I must start blogging again. As I reread my past posts it's clear that once upon a time I did like to do it, I just think being an activist took center stage. I miss sharing recipes, funny stories, projects etc. Time has flown, I do know that. Anyway, I'm sharing my Dewey County Record articles here under Behind Ag's Green Mask, feel free to share this info far and wide. I am having trouble linking so that's going to be messed up for awhile and the image I keep referring to ...it's coming if I can figure it out. Have fun trying to gather my thoughts...
Andy

"Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing"

I started blogging and facebooking many years ago.  I put my blog on the shelf but tonight decided to pull it out again.  I found this in one of my drafts written in 2013...

Each morning I study my Bible and get quiet with the Lord before the activities of the day hit.  I've done this for the past 20 years or so and try never to miss these perfect peace times with Him. 
If you've followed my Facebook posts, my  blogs, my emails (if you're not on FB) I have been relentless on getting people to wake up to what's coming...global centralized control and the loss of individual freedoms and private property. This morning, once again, I poured out my problems and concerns...today they seemed more, they seemed overwhelming...what do I do with all of the information I have swimming around in my head? what do I share what do I keep private?...please help me focus, help me communicate my message.  His answer before I finished my request: "keep the main thing the main thing".  So with His nudgings I will do my best.  
How did I know this global takeover was coming? I didn't. but I listened, I observed, I learned; that and the fact that I live daily in the middle of it...ground zero gave me a big global picture early on.  It's been a work in progress, an incremental realization that we are being destroyed from within. I've found out what I know aligns with Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto and his 10 planks.  Nearly everyday a curtain is drawn to show another arm, another wizard tied to and controlling this destructive global agenda.
I served two terms as Oklahoma Cattle Woman president this gave me the opportunity to attend national meetings and meet fellow ranch women.  Before this time I was just a normal ranch wife who had been cooking, cleaning, raising kids, helping raise and groom show animals, volunteering with 4-H, FFA and any community activity I couldn't say no to and the normal day to day ranch work when needed- baling, swathing and office work.
When I took the position as OCA president I was reluctant, it took me way out of my comfort zone, but it turned out to be the door that opened many friendships which in turn has allowed me unlock puzzles and see the big picture of what's happening to our food supply and other resources...the attacks on our nation.
 At national meetings I listened to friends and fellow ranch women who like me were witnessing attacks first hand at ground zero. For nearly 10 years, probably more like 12 I listened to other women quietly share their stories, their concerns their experiences and similar problems, women whose voices were never heard because they were afraid of the repercussions of being labeled "silly" or "nuts".  I soon realized that there were some things we were allowed to discuss and other issues were off limits.  I remember at one national industry meeting  drones were brought up and some of the ranch women shared similar concerns as they had actually seen these drones flying over their feedlots.  The facilitator of that meeting an industry staffer  quickly swept the question under the table..."we shouldn't be talking of such things"  was the resonating unspoken message...but those of us who were actual ranchers did talk about those things and many other concerns numerous times through the years and our stories and similarities of attacks have aligned. 
Privately sharing horror stories which ranged from outrageous undeserving fines issued to upstanding ranchers through the targeting of an out of control EPA to the protection needed for school children because of fear of attacks by a endangered listed grey wolves threatening the lives of rancher's children waiting for the school bus to the extent cages were needed to protect them while waiting on the bus.  Over the years we've shared a ton of information, personal experiences and shared our fears of what might happen to our rights as grassroots farmers, producers, land and animal owners---food producers in the future.
In 2008 we women were discussing watersheds and the fact that government programs with the help of extremists were being used to take control of our water.  We've been discussing windtowers and chemtrails, and animal rights extremist's undercover videos, we've discussed how a certain well known agriculture journalist  was the first to post these destructive videos  before they were verified as a credible source, we've shared our delight in Tom Moran calling out USDA's and Vilsack's wife's extreme activists ties and  recently we've discussed the destruction and havoc Public Private Partnerships are having on our ability to provide food.  We've  discussed "useful/necessary idiots; government, organization, individual industry facilitators, implementers and navigators of these destructive agendas and their role in advancing this evil.  The stories have been endless the source-real ranchers with real life issues.

As farmers and ranchers we deal daily in each resource/ business sector that has been under attack since Obama took the helm.  I take care of our ranch's health care, so I could see where the Affordable Health Care Act was headed- single payer. We have trucks that haul cattle; feed cattle in feedlots (I refuse to call these locations CAFOs, confined animal feeding operations...a term given to that segment of our food industry by the EPA, coddled and nurtured by the "so called agriculture friendly Jekyll  Hyde" USDA  which allows the long arm of the green, animal extremists/government excessive control.  Each one of these food producing locations can now be easily identified by any terrorist group or extremist with a global agenda; we deal with water issues and most recently endangered species listings such as the Arkansas Shiner and Lesser Prairie Chicken...in other words my world revolves around strangling regulations and the evidence of their business destroying nature.
Most importantly we have cattle and this is where I witnessed the most profound incremental global control and corrupt subtle implementation of bizarre rules and regulations. and the method used by these globalists to cause self infliction in most cases.  When the blind lead the blind and refuse to understand disaster isn't far off.  When a small select group of staff and leaders (many whose hobby is the beef industry, not a form of substantial income) start making illogical ill informed decisions and turn their back on the expert's advice (and no I am not one of the experts but I am good friends with many of them and I'm not afraid to  learn from them) the end for an association or group isn't far off.
When prestige, egos, greed and arrogance turn their back on legitimate concerns ignoring individuals who pay the check off dollar who live in the midst of the ground war and leave those individuals wearing a  "the sky is falling and I'm nuts" aluminum foil hat...we have a problem.  When the wagon hauler is ignored and told to be careful what they say,  avoided like a shark in a school of fish at industry meetings we have a problem.  When the establishment refuses to address the concerns of those who know what's happening daily we have a problem. When the funder is funding the funded's job security, career advancement, opulent lifestyle and worse and above all the enemy without a voice or only the voices of a few being considered we have a problem.  When at the expense of grassroots (literally taking check off funds to layer and advance destructive agendas such as "sustainability"and handing animal activists endowments to our state's land grant univeristies, advancing terms such as "best management practices" which opens a chasm for regulations to enter and a host of other self destructive verbiage, when these actions take center stage to liberty and freedom we have a problem.
 When I witness those who knew early on what was transpiring,  close the doors and make executive decisions on my and fellow beef producer's behalf, refusing to discuss openly the problems and unintended consequences soon to be encountered which will destroy our livelihoods and using the "make the most of a crisis" opportunity to create business  deals by this "created crisis" we have a problem, a very big centralized control problem.

 ---yes accepting the OCW president's job opened my eyes and I've witnessed and experienced first hand incremental centralized control.

There is a way that seemeth right to a man but in the end leads to death...Proverbs 14:12