THE NATIONAL COALITION
(Finally a Reality)
Editorial
By
Charly Seale
After months of working with several industry leaders attempting to forge out an alliance of industry associations it
now appears the Non-Traditional Farmers and Ranchers Alliance or Coalition (has not been fully decided) has
become a reality.
After stopping the importation of Elk into the state of Tennessee from the Elk Island Refuge in Alberta, Canada
representatives from the various industry associations saw what banding together for a common cause can
accomplish. We also knew that we were lucky on this endeavor from a financial standpoint. EWA attorneys
advised that it could have cost as much as $100,000.00 to file an injunction and then file the appropriate bonds not
to mention any court costs should the principles choose to fight the injunction.
We did not have to rely on the court system to stop the movement of these Canadian elk into the United States; this
time. Enough phone calls made to the United States Department of Agriculture officials stopped the movement;
this time. But what about next time and make no mistake there will be a next time.
The proponents of the coalition of industry associations know that to fight back against the threats to our industry
and quite frankly our way of life takes money-a lot of money. It also takes an organized team to fight the
bureaucracy of the various governmental regulators and the different well funded anti groups. This is why an
organized alliance is so important.
It is true that if a situation arises that a single association can not handle alone a few well placed phone calls can
sometimes help. In the majority of cases, however, a well organized, well funded coalition or alliance that has all the
facts at their disposal and has an articulate coalition spokesperson representing thousands of members can, in
many cases, be very effective and accomplish what a single association representing a few hundred members and
acting alone can not.
What the proponents of a well funded, well organized coalition considered when establishing the Non-Traditional
Farmers and Ranchers Alliance was that it is a matter of money and numbers. When talking to state and national
legislators the first thing they want to know is how much money does the industry generate and how many members
do you represent. In the political arena it is strictly a numbers game. The more numbers you produce the better
your message is received. It is amazing how that works.
The opponents of the organized coalition definitely have a valid argument when they state that there is no need for
another association. It takes money away from their associations because there is only so much money to go
around. They also argue that it dilutes their individual association’s identity. They believe that we can adequately
defend our industry’s interests by calling association leaders together on a phone conference, strategizing, and
reaching a successful solution. Any money that is to be spent can be raised by having each association donate
money to the cause.
This was an excellent strategy years ago and in some cases can still be effective today. However, our enemies
and opponents, who want to put us out of business, are very organized, have an extremely effective long range goal,
and are very well funded. They have two basic plans; divide and conquer and constantly be on the offensive never
the defensive.
For too many years our industry has been one of reaction not action. We are always attempting to put out
proverbial fires rather than setting a few of our own. We are complacent by nature and tend to be content to sail
along and not “rock the boat”.
Today’s world has become one of the “squeaky wheel gets greased”. Like it or not we have evolved into a society
of “do it to them before they do it to me”. This is the attitude that the antis have developed. They will, at all costs,
shove their beliefs of what THEY believe is ethical and moral down our proverbial throats. They are willing to go to
all lengths and depths to accomplish this. They could care less about your so called personal rights.
The United States did not go into any war without a well armed, well funded coalition of nations who share our
interest of personal freedoms. So it is with our industry. As I have stated numerous times in other editorials we are
at war. If you believe that the various government regulatory agencies are here to help our industry then you are
sadly mistaken. These agencies see the animal industry whether traditional or non-traditional, in many instances as
a cash cow.
At a recent convention of elk breeders one USDA official bragged to his audience and very proudly displayed
photographs of a new $479,000,000.00 research facility for Chronic Wasting Disease research. There has literally
been hundreds of millions of dollars spent on a media driven disease that has a prevalence rate of less than 2%.
On the other hand EHD and Blue Tongue kill thousands of deer each year across this nation and is costing our
industry billions of dollars. On a recent trip to Washington your industry representatives had to beg to get
$25,000,000.00 over a five year period appropriated in the farm bill for vaccine research for this dreaded disease.
We still do not know if the funding will happen.
There has to be a major offensive by a well organized, well funded coalition to get the message to the politicians
and the bureaucrats. Will they listen to a single association representing a few hundred members? Probably not!
They will listen, however, when a group mounts a national campaign representing thousands of members and an
economic impact of a couple of billion dollars.
The national coalition will not just be a few industry leaders getting together over the phone and talking about
fighting for some cause or some rule that we do not agree with. Because it is well organized and well funded, the
coalition will be capable of mounting its own offensive against the antis by winning the heart and minds of those
individuals who are not against what we do but just do not understand what we do. They can be swayed if we utilize
a marketing campaign explaining and showing what our industry is all about. Show them that captive breeding is a
good thing and is not about some poor sheep in a one acre pen with arrows sticking out of it. If we continue to be
reactive instead of proactive then our industry will certainly die a slow death because of our own complacency.
Again these campaigns take money and most associations, by themselves, do not have the funds to be effective.
As I stated in the beginning, a tremendous amount of effort by a group of very talented industry leaders have finally
created an instrument, if used properly and effectively, that can have a very positive impact on our industry. The
coalition is certainly not a “cure all” and can not fight every battle that occurs in every state. This is why the national
and state associations are still going to be, as they have always been, the main offensive line. This is why they will
not lose their individual identities as associations. Each association whether it is a national or state affiliation is
extremely important. We can not afford to lose a single one and we definitely can not afford to have less than full
participation from each association in the national coalition.
The structure of this alliance will insure that every industry association whether big or small, rich or poor, will have an
equal voice. This is something the beef, pork, sheep, goat, and poultry industries figured out long ago.
I am very proud to have been a very small part of this national coalition. I see only good things ahead for our
industry because of a united front. This uniting of state and national associations has been tried in the past and has
failed miserably. The main reason was egos and hidden agendas on the part of some of the participants. I am
very pleased to say that the leaders from all the associations, who gave of themselves and their precious time while
forming this coalition, worked for the good of the entire industry and not individual agendas.
For this reason the Non-Traditional Farmers and Ranchers Alliance will be a representative of all the industry and
will hold true to its mission statement.
“In an effort to protect the private property rights of individual members of our collective organizations, and in an
effort to preserve the private businesses of our members in breeding, raising, harvesting, and marketing of fenced
farm/ranch raised wildlife, we ally ourselves and our organizations to the beneficial interests of the majority of our
membership.”