June 26, 2026 • 19 mins
Julie Ellingson, Stockmen’s Association Update & Highlights.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Come, welcome back to you Dakota Mornings. I'm your host,
Michael Bell. We are joined on the phone by the
North Dakota Stockmen's Association Executive vice.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
President Julie Ellingston. Julie, good morning. Thank you for taking
the time to join us this morning.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Yeah, absolutely my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
You guys have so much going on all the time
that I felt it was really important to bring you
on to talk about all the incredible things you're doing
there at the North Dakota Stockmen's Association.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, you know, it is all as a bitty time,
just like it is on livestock operations across the state.
The Association has a pretty powerpack summer all the time.
We celebrated, of course, beef months in the months of May,
but really it's beef months all year long around here.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Let's call it beef year.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
That's right. That sounds good to me. I'm sure would
deem it that way. So we get this. God wrapped
up a bunch of activities earlier earlier this month with
our Spring roundups, which are served as our district meetings
where we travel the state and interface with our with
our members, livestock producers and hear what's on their mind.
We crossed off the list our annual feed Lot Tour.
(01:09):
Middle of this month, we were proud to host the
Cattle Women's seventy fifth anniversary.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Can I interrupt for one second?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Can you give us a little bit of background on
the feed lot tours, what that is and why they're
so important.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, So, one of the pillars of the Stockmen's Association,
one of our divisions, is our Environmental Services Area. And
so what the role of that department is is to
provide information to livestock producers that want to make sure
their operations are in compliance with environmental regulations and to
do the best by the way, by the way of
(01:47):
the environment. And so what they do is a color
office set up an appointment with our Environmental Services director
for an assessment of how their animal feeding operation is
situated and perhaps they're looking to do some enhancements and
some development, and so it provides some technical assistance as
well as the opportunity for some cast share support if
(02:10):
they decide to permit their feed lot and go through
those additional steps and add some additional best management practices.
And so what our feed Lot Tour does is really
showcases some of those operations that have gone through that process,
and really is an interesting time for people to ask questions.
A lot of folks come on the feed lot tour
(02:31):
with tape measures and notebooks and getting ideas from others. Again,
everyone's situation and their layout is a little bit different,
but that's a great way to do some planning and
ask questions of folks who have gone through that process
and can give the good, bad, the ugly of their
experiences and kind of what the words of wisdom are
(02:52):
as some of their peers might contemplate doing something similar well.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
And one of the thing and the reason why I
stopped you is because I want to highlight this is
the very essence and the quintessential aspect of what an
association does really really well, which is act as a
clearinghouse for best practices, because in an association you have
membership who have all made mistakes and learn from them.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, that's right. Really, we're a cattle producer's trade organization
and we bring together cattle people and people that have
that interest. And again we have experts within our ranks.
And what better way to provide again the words of wisdom,
the nuggets of wisdom to one another as a contemplate
(03:41):
projects such as we talk about through the Feedlot tour
and what those types of projects showcase, but also support
people understanding what we're going through and can collaborate on
things like that, or when we get in the policy
arena and work through our convention process and identify no
positions on different issues and how the best way to
(04:01):
move forward together united and to advance the priorities of
cattle producers across North Dakota.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Amen, and I want the reason why I wanted to
talk to you again is I feel it's really important
to check in with you because there's so many moving
parts to the North Dakota Stockmen's Association.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I want to spend five seconds though, on the.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Coloring coloring contest that you guys just toasted, which I
think is genius. I love coloring contests. I don't participate
in them, but this is a big deal. You had
a ton of submissions.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, we sure did. That was one of our fun
activities that we did to celebrate Beef Month again, which
was proclaimed in the month of May a fun activity
for youth. Really are the idea behind that is again
to get our youth involved and to understand the significance
of the beef industry, the cattle industry here in North Dakota.
(05:00):
Of course, we're one of the economic pillars that helped
drive North Dakota's economy of one point five billion dollars,
you know, more than sixty seven hundred beef operations in
North Dakota. And so to celebrate not only the economic significance,
but also beef as a product, a great nutritious, delicious
protein source that really is the fabric of North Dakota
(05:24):
and a fun way again for our littles to be
a part of that celebration.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, get them in early so that they understand the
mechanics of it. Because one of the things that I
have come to know about Countle ranchers here in North
Dakota is they're a quiet.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Lot of folks.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yeah, that's that's right, just kind of hunker down and
get to work and get the work done. Yeah, that's
absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
So what else? What else would do you want to
highlight and talk about?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Here?
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Again, so many moving parts, so many active he's going on.
You're doing, from what I see, you guys are doing
just an incredible job representing the cattle ranchers in North
Dakota really really effectively.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Well well, well, thank you. We appreciate that and we
take that responsibility very seriously. That the Stockmen's Association, as
many know, has been around for a long time. We
just celebrated our ninety seventh birthday and so couldn't do
that without the support and the direction of our grassroots
members to fuel that process and continue to grow and
(06:33):
to prosper again. At the end of the day, our
mission is to help provide a favorable business climate for
our producers so they can take care of the cattle,
can take care of the land, and deliver a high
quality beef product for people here in the US and
across the globe, and so lots of different activities as
you had mentioned, to make that happen and to support
(06:53):
our members. This kind of as a quick update of
a couple of things coming up this summer. Tomorrow and
the next day actually we're talking about the youth before
we'll be hosting our our Junior Beef, our Junior be
and Watford City and so a fun showcase as young
young members will be showcasing their livestock and as we
(07:15):
look at the calendar, listening to your the program before
as you talk about the impending celebration of the fourth
of July, and of course the special anniversary will also
be doing a special salute as a beef industry as
our Military Appreciation Day coming up and miy not during
the State Fair for active military, reserve and National Guard
(07:37):
members and so at a lot of a lot of
fun things planned for the summer, a lot of business
though at hand too.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Sure you came out with with the new brand, the
new Brand book in April. I think that was sort
of what launched this, this desire to bring you on.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah, so in North Dakota, as many know, every five years,
all livestock brands expire need to be renewed, and so
we went through that mammoth process, wrapped the initial stages
of that up on December thirty first, and so about
twenty thousand ISCH brands have been renewed. There's still some
that have not been and so as of January first,
(08:18):
twenty twenty six, if those brands weren't renewed, those are expired. Now,
state law does allow a one year grace period, and
so while the brand is expired and you aren't supposed
to be using that you still have kind of protection
for that brand, if you will, until December thirty first
of this year, before somebody else could come in and
(08:38):
register that. And so that causes some hiccups, right wet
people lose their brands, and so we want to remind
them that we're kind of at that six month point
now before that becomes extra tricky. What happens if you
didn't renew your brand and you're going to market livestock
wearing those right now, Our inspectors will hold the proceeds
(08:59):
of those the market until proof of ownership can be
can be obtained or the brand is renewed, and so
we don't want people to have those marketing hiccups. So
that's very very important. And again January first of next year,
if those brands aren't renewed and somebody else can assume
those and there's no preferential treatment if you will, that's
(09:20):
allowed by state law, and so very important that people
are cognizant of that. And I want to check out
kind of what the new brand book. We sell a
physical copy of that, a hard copy which is a
beautiful copy, table type piece, but you also can check information. Yeah, really,
it really is a beautiful hardcover book. But if you
don't want to look up the information that is available
(09:42):
on our website and will help you get the information
that you need to utilize the most, that the latest information.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
And so when you're talking about brands, you're talking about
something that is invested in over a long period of time.
I appreciate you, guys, giving your grace preeriod before that
has moved on. I was hoping maybe you could take
this same process, this same audit process, and replicate it
throughout the country on voter rolls.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Well, we'll probably focus on what our mission is.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Okay, that's fair, that's fair, But you can't blame me
for asking.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yeah, the brand process is, you know, certainly significant for
many reasons. We think about the heritage of a brand
and the symbol, what that means to a ranch or
a family and very much part of the family heirloom,
if you will, and the significance it carries that way.
Often people don't realize the significance of what that means
(10:42):
in terms of a business. And so that is the
legal proof of ownership on cattle, horses and mules, and
what's determined about who owns that animal and who receives
the proceeds, and so we take that very serious and
why those those laws are in place to protect the
rightful owner. And our job at the Stockman's Association through
(11:04):
statute is to be the registrar and the keeper of
that information and so very very important and important considerations
too for those who might be applying for a brand
for the first time. This is a real active time
because people, as people prepare to turn their catalog to pasture,
(11:24):
would like to put brands on them to make sure
they're protected and their identification is preserved through that process.
It makes a difference in how you adjoin names if
it's an and or an ore or an and or
in different implications with each of those and so we
really encourage people to be very thoughtful and deliberate about
(11:44):
that approach as they make those business decisions, because significance
as a symbol and has that nostalgia, but it also
is very significant and it comes to who gets paid
at the end of the day and who owns those
animals wearing that brand.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Well, and I want to highlight this is done by
a private organization. This is not done by the government.
There is a history there on why it's not done
by the government, and rightly so, it's done from the
private sector moving forward. Uh and and and it's taken
very seriously, and it should be. I don't read many,
(12:20):
you know, articles on issues with brands, theft of brands,
things like that. I don't I don't come across many
that way because it's taken so seriously by not only
the North Dakota Stockmen's Association members, but also the National
Cattleman's Beef Association.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Yeah, so that the brand is very much part of
our heritage. As you mentioned, North Dakota is unique, and
that we are the only private entity that administers a
brand inspection and recording program in all of America. There
had years and years ago, there had been had been others. Again,
that is a statutory assignment to the association, and so
(12:56):
we still function and as we collect fees and run
the program, those are still sent back to the state
and we have to adhere to state rules and present
our audits just like we were a state agency for
those public functions of our role. But again very proud
and again take that responsibility very serious. And because we
(13:17):
have that connection to livestock producers, think that we're able
to do that very efficiently.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
We need to go to a commercial break. This is
Dakota Morning As I'm your host, Michael Bell. Welcome back
to you Dakota Mornings. I'm your host, Michael Bell, KAFA
R five fifty AM, not a nine point seven FM.
And we are joined on the phone by North Dakota
Stockmen's Association's executive vice president, Julie Ellingson, and we were
talking about the importance of brand but also so much
(13:43):
of what the Stockmen's Association has going on in North Dakota.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
And I want to I want to.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Gather around again about the statutory authority that you have
on brands here in North Dakota.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
And it's unique.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Yeah, a bit is unique. As we were mentioning, we're
a private entity with that statutory assignment, and so in
those divisions, we functions as a state agency and so
these collected again, those would be remitted to the state
and then come back to run those specific programs. Many
people are also familiar with the association's membership work and
(14:22):
government affairs representation and such, and those are private, those
are private funds, separated and a different wing, different arm
of the association, all very all very important, but you know,
the whole concept of brands really is how the association
got its start. Nearly one hundred years ago. Cattle wrestling
(14:42):
was the hot issue in the western part of North Dakota,
and it was livestock producers in that area centered around
kind of Watford City and the like, that decided that
something needed to be done about it, and so they
came together. They pitched in five dollars a person established
a reward fund for the information leading to the arresting
(15:05):
conviction of those wrestlers. And so not only did they
do that, but they decided to christen was then called
the Western North Dakota Stockman's Association, and that's really where
we got our roots. Interestingly, as we talk about the
anniversary and the special celebration celebrating Teddy Roosevelt and the
library and such, Teddy Roosevelt actually was a member of
(15:29):
some predecessor Stockman's associations, not our direct line, but he
too was involved years before while he spent his time
as a cattle rancher in North Dakota for a period.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
And that I think that highlighting the history of the
Stockman's Association and the rich history of the Stockman's Association.
It's worth its weight in gold, because again, these are
the stockmen and the ranchers here in North Dakota. They're
quiet people, they are humble people, and that's why I
think it's really great for you and I to take
(16:03):
a moment to celebrate the success and the rich history
they have.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Yeah, they really are some fantastic people that I get
to get to work for, working on their behalf here
at the association. And again, it's important that people come together.
We talked earlier about getting ideas from one another or
collaborating on different policy items or whatever it might be.
But there's only so many of us in production agriculture,
(16:29):
even though we have significance economically and such an importance
in that way, There's only so many bodies, and so
it's important that we unify that ideas amongst our industry
and can come together united and present those whether it
be at the state or in the national capital, or
just articulating our message and sharing the good story of
(16:51):
North Dakota's beef producers and beef industry.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
And part of that rich heritage is you know, a
Deidre and I were just talking off air. She's talking
about how incredible it is in North Dakota that you know,
when the dynamics of an event change, for example, everybody
sort of stands back and says, how can I help?
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What can I do to help this out?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
That is the mentality of cattle ranchers, and historically going
back hundreds of years, that is the character of the
cattle rancher. Who is you know, always saying what can
I do to help?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Yeah? It really is and I'm really very proud of that.
And part of that mentality was the reason that association
members now going on twenty years ago, decided to put
together a foundation, and that really is the idea of
creating a charitable arm and support, provide hopeing opportunity is
a mission of a Stockman's Foundation. And so some of
(17:48):
the areas that they're working as just what you talk about,
disaster relief and others to give others a helping hand
when necessary, and to buying together and support one another
when it means the most.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
So and my question to you is, because I am
like my dog irish, I am food motivated. Do you
have any events coming is this Stockman's Association have any
events coming up where you're going to be like, you know,
serving beef.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Well, as we mentioned, we're going to be serving a
lot of beef at the Beef Industry Military Appreciation Day
that's special tribute to those in the military world. We'll
do that as the State Fair and it'll be about
anywhere between fifteen hundred and two thousand people in a
short series. That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Yeah, And certainly there's going to be a lot of
beef fun the girls this summer, right, Yeah, A free
choices and what a better way to celebrate our upcoming
birthday and the special anniversary that we have right around
the corner.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Julie ellingson North Dakota Stockman's Association as executive vice president,
Thank you so much for taking the time to join
us this morning.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
My pleasure, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
This is Dakota Mornings.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I am your host, Michael Bell, K Fly are five
fifty am a nine point seven FM.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
We and iHeart meet production and we are a wrap
for today.
Come, welcome back to you Dakota Mornings. I'm your host,
Michael Bell. We are joined on the phone by the
North Dakota Stockmen's Association Executive vice.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
President Julie Ellingston. Julie, good morning. Thank you for taking
the time to join us this morning.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Yeah, absolutely my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
You guys have so much going on all the time
that I felt it was really important to bring you
on to talk about all the incredible things you're doing
there at the North Dakota Stockmen's Association.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah, you know, it is all as a bitty time,
just like it is on livestock operations across the state.
The Association has a pretty powerpack summer all the time.
We celebrated, of course, beef months in the months of May,
but really it's beef months all year long around here.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Let's call it beef year.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
That's right. That sounds good to me. I'm sure would
deem it that way. So we get this. God wrapped
up a bunch of activities earlier earlier this month with
our Spring roundups, which are served as our district meetings
where we travel the state and interface with our with
our members, livestock producers and hear what's on their mind.
We crossed off the list our annual feed Lot Tour.
(01:09):
Middle of this month, we were proud to host the
Cattle Women's seventy fifth anniversary.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Can I interrupt for one second?
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Can you give us a little bit of background on
the feed lot tours, what that is and why they're
so important.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, So, one of the pillars of the Stockmen's Association,
one of our divisions, is our Environmental Services Area. And
so what the role of that department is is to
provide information to livestock producers that want to make sure
their operations are in compliance with environmental regulations and to
do the best by the way, by the way of
(01:47):
the environment. And so what they do is a color
office set up an appointment with our Environmental Services director
for an assessment of how their animal feeding operation is
situated and perhaps they're looking to do some enhancements and
some development, and so it provides some technical assistance as
well as the opportunity for some cast share support if
(02:10):
they decide to permit their feed lot and go through
those additional steps and add some additional best management practices.
And so what our feed Lot Tour does is really
showcases some of those operations that have gone through that process,
and really is an interesting time for people to ask questions.
A lot of folks come on the feed lot tour
(02:31):
with tape measures and notebooks and getting ideas from others. Again,
everyone's situation and their layout is a little bit different,
but that's a great way to do some planning and
ask questions of folks who have gone through that process
and can give the good, bad, the ugly of their
experiences and kind of what the words of wisdom are
(02:52):
as some of their peers might contemplate doing something similar well.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
And one of the thing and the reason why I
stopped you is because I want to highlight this is
the very essence and the quintessential aspect of what an
association does really really well, which is act as a
clearinghouse for best practices, because in an association you have
membership who have all made mistakes and learn from them.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Yeah, that's right. Really, we're a cattle producer's trade organization
and we bring together cattle people and people that have
that interest. And again we have experts within our ranks.
And what better way to provide again the words of wisdom,
the nuggets of wisdom to one another as a contemplate
(03:41):
projects such as we talk about through the Feedlot tour
and what those types of projects showcase, but also support
people understanding what we're going through and can collaborate on
things like that, or when we get in the policy
arena and work through our convention process and identify no
positions on different issues and how the best way to
(04:01):
move forward together united and to advance the priorities of
cattle producers across North Dakota.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Amen, and I want the reason why I wanted to
talk to you again is I feel it's really important
to check in with you because there's so many moving
parts to the North Dakota Stockmen's Association.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
I want to spend five seconds though, on the.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Coloring coloring contest that you guys just toasted, which I
think is genius. I love coloring contests. I don't participate
in them, but this is a big deal. You had
a ton of submissions.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
Yeah, we sure did. That was one of our fun
activities that we did to celebrate Beef Month again, which
was proclaimed in the month of May a fun activity
for youth. Really are the idea behind that is again
to get our youth involved and to understand the significance
of the beef industry, the cattle industry here in North Dakota.
(05:00):
Of course, we're one of the economic pillars that helped
drive North Dakota's economy of one point five billion dollars,
you know, more than sixty seven hundred beef operations in
North Dakota. And so to celebrate not only the economic significance,
but also beef as a product, a great nutritious, delicious
protein source that really is the fabric of North Dakota
(05:24):
and a fun way again for our littles to be
a part of that celebration.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Yeah, get them in early so that they understand the
mechanics of it. Because one of the things that I
have come to know about Countle ranchers here in North
Dakota is they're a quiet.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Lot of folks.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
Yeah, that's that's right, just kind of hunker down and
get to work and get the work done. Yeah, that's
absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
So what else? What else would do you want to
highlight and talk about?
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Here?
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Again, so many moving parts, so many active he's going on.
You're doing, from what I see, you guys are doing
just an incredible job representing the cattle ranchers in North
Dakota really really effectively.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Well well, well, thank you. We appreciate that and we
take that responsibility very seriously. That the Stockmen's Association, as
many know, has been around for a long time. We
just celebrated our ninety seventh birthday and so couldn't do
that without the support and the direction of our grassroots
members to fuel that process and continue to grow and
(06:33):
to prosper again. At the end of the day, our
mission is to help provide a favorable business climate for
our producers so they can take care of the cattle,
can take care of the land, and deliver a high
quality beef product for people here in the US and
across the globe, and so lots of different activities as
you had mentioned, to make that happen and to support
(06:53):
our members. This kind of as a quick update of
a couple of things coming up this summer. Tomorrow and
the next day actually we're talking about the youth before
we'll be hosting our our Junior Beef, our Junior be
and Watford City and so a fun showcase as young
young members will be showcasing their livestock and as we
(07:15):
look at the calendar, listening to your the program before
as you talk about the impending celebration of the fourth
of July, and of course the special anniversary will also
be doing a special salute as a beef industry as
our Military Appreciation Day coming up and miy not during
the State Fair for active military, reserve and National Guard
(07:37):
members and so at a lot of a lot of
fun things planned for the summer, a lot of business
though at hand too.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Sure you came out with with the new brand, the
new Brand book in April. I think that was sort
of what launched this, this desire to bring you on.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
Yeah, so in North Dakota, as many know, every five years,
all livestock brands expire need to be renewed, and so
we went through that mammoth process, wrapped the initial stages
of that up on December thirty first, and so about
twenty thousand ISCH brands have been renewed. There's still some
that have not been and so as of January first,
(08:18):
twenty twenty six, if those brands weren't renewed, those are expired. Now,
state law does allow a one year grace period, and
so while the brand is expired and you aren't supposed
to be using that you still have kind of protection
for that brand, if you will, until December thirty first
of this year, before somebody else could come in and
(08:38):
register that. And so that causes some hiccups, right wet
people lose their brands, and so we want to remind
them that we're kind of at that six month point
now before that becomes extra tricky. What happens if you
didn't renew your brand and you're going to market livestock
wearing those right now, Our inspectors will hold the proceeds
(08:59):
of those the market until proof of ownership can be
can be obtained or the brand is renewed, and so
we don't want people to have those marketing hiccups. So
that's very very important. And again January first of next year,
if those brands aren't renewed and somebody else can assume
those and there's no preferential treatment if you will, that's
(09:20):
allowed by state law, and so very important that people
are cognizant of that. And I want to check out
kind of what the new brand book. We sell a
physical copy of that, a hard copy which is a
beautiful copy, table type piece, but you also can check information. Yeah, really,
it really is a beautiful hardcover book. But if you
don't want to look up the information that is available
(09:42):
on our website and will help you get the information
that you need to utilize the most, that the latest information.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
And so when you're talking about brands, you're talking about
something that is invested in over a long period of time.
I appreciate you, guys, giving your grace preeriod before that
has moved on. I was hoping maybe you could take
this same process, this same audit process, and replicate it
throughout the country on voter rolls.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Well, we'll probably focus on what our mission is.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Okay, that's fair, that's fair, But you can't blame me
for asking.
Speaker 3 (10:22):
Yeah, the brand process is, you know, certainly significant for
many reasons. We think about the heritage of a brand
and the symbol, what that means to a ranch or
a family and very much part of the family heirloom,
if you will, and the significance it carries that way.
Often people don't realize the significance of what that means
(10:42):
in terms of a business. And so that is the
legal proof of ownership on cattle, horses and mules, and
what's determined about who owns that animal and who receives
the proceeds, and so we take that very serious and
why those those laws are in place to protect the
rightful owner. And our job at the Stockman's Association through
(11:04):
statute is to be the registrar and the keeper of
that information and so very very important and important considerations
too for those who might be applying for a brand
for the first time. This is a real active time
because people, as people prepare to turn their catalog to pasture,
(11:24):
would like to put brands on them to make sure
they're protected and their identification is preserved through that process.
It makes a difference in how you adjoin names if
it's an and or an ore or an and or
in different implications with each of those and so we
really encourage people to be very thoughtful and deliberate about
(11:44):
that approach as they make those business decisions, because significance
as a symbol and has that nostalgia, but it also
is very significant and it comes to who gets paid
at the end of the day and who owns those
animals wearing that brand.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Well, and I want to highlight this is done by
a private organization. This is not done by the government.
There is a history there on why it's not done
by the government, and rightly so, it's done from the
private sector moving forward. Uh and and and it's taken
very seriously, and it should be. I don't read many,
(12:20):
you know, articles on issues with brands, theft of brands,
things like that. I don't I don't come across many
that way because it's taken so seriously by not only
the North Dakota Stockmen's Association members, but also the National
Cattleman's Beef Association.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Yeah, so that the brand is very much part of
our heritage. As you mentioned, North Dakota is unique, and
that we are the only private entity that administers a
brand inspection and recording program in all of America. There
had years and years ago, there had been had been others. Again,
that is a statutory assignment to the association, and so
(12:56):
we still function and as we collect fees and run
the program, those are still sent back to the state
and we have to adhere to state rules and present
our audits just like we were a state agency for
those public functions of our role. But again very proud
and again take that responsibility very serious. And because we
(13:17):
have that connection to livestock producers, think that we're able
to do that very efficiently.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
We need to go to a commercial break. This is
Dakota Morning As I'm your host, Michael Bell. Welcome back
to you Dakota Mornings. I'm your host, Michael Bell, KAFA
R five fifty AM, not a nine point seven FM.
And we are joined on the phone by North Dakota
Stockmen's Association's executive vice president, Julie Ellingson, and we were
talking about the importance of brand but also so much
(13:43):
of what the Stockmen's Association has going on in North Dakota.
Speaker 2 (13:48):
And I want to I want to.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Gather around again about the statutory authority that you have
on brands here in North Dakota.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
And it's unique.
Speaker 3 (14:00):
Yeah, a bit is unique. As we were mentioning, we're
a private entity with that statutory assignment, and so in
those divisions, we functions as a state agency and so
these collected again, those would be remitted to the state
and then come back to run those specific programs. Many
people are also familiar with the association's membership work and
(14:22):
government affairs representation and such, and those are private, those
are private funds, separated and a different wing, different arm
of the association, all very all very important, but you know,
the whole concept of brands really is how the association
got its start. Nearly one hundred years ago. Cattle wrestling
(14:42):
was the hot issue in the western part of North Dakota,
and it was livestock producers in that area centered around
kind of Watford City and the like, that decided that
something needed to be done about it, and so they
came together. They pitched in five dollars a person established
a reward fund for the information leading to the arresting
(15:05):
conviction of those wrestlers. And so not only did they
do that, but they decided to christen was then called
the Western North Dakota Stockman's Association, and that's really where
we got our roots. Interestingly, as we talk about the
anniversary and the special celebration celebrating Teddy Roosevelt and the
library and such, Teddy Roosevelt actually was a member of
(15:29):
some predecessor Stockman's associations, not our direct line, but he
too was involved years before while he spent his time
as a cattle rancher in North Dakota for a period.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
And that I think that highlighting the history of the
Stockman's Association and the rich history of the Stockman's Association.
It's worth its weight in gold, because again, these are
the stockmen and the ranchers here in North Dakota. They're
quiet people, they are humble people, and that's why I
think it's really great for you and I to take
(16:03):
a moment to celebrate the success and the rich history
they have.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
Yeah, they really are some fantastic people that I get
to get to work for, working on their behalf here
at the association. And again, it's important that people come together.
We talked earlier about getting ideas from one another or
collaborating on different policy items or whatever it might be.
But there's only so many of us in production agriculture,
(16:29):
even though we have significance economically and such an importance
in that way, There's only so many bodies, and so
it's important that we unify that ideas amongst our industry
and can come together united and present those whether it
be at the state or in the national capital, or
just articulating our message and sharing the good story of
(16:51):
North Dakota's beef producers and beef industry.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
And part of that rich heritage is you know, a
Deidre and I were just talking off air. She's talking
about how incredible it is in North Dakota that you know,
when the dynamics of an event change, for example, everybody
sort of stands back and says, how can I help?
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What can I do to help this out?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
That is the mentality of cattle ranchers, and historically going
back hundreds of years, that is the character of the
cattle rancher. Who is you know, always saying what can
I do to help?
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Yeah? It really is and I'm really very proud of that.
And part of that mentality was the reason that association
members now going on twenty years ago, decided to put
together a foundation, and that really is the idea of
creating a charitable arm and support, provide hopeing opportunity is
a mission of a Stockman's Foundation. And so some of
(17:48):
the areas that they're working as just what you talk about,
disaster relief and others to give others a helping hand
when necessary, and to buying together and support one another
when it means the most.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
So and my question to you is, because I am
like my dog irish, I am food motivated. Do you
have any events coming is this Stockman's Association have any
events coming up where you're going to be like, you know,
serving beef.
Speaker 3 (18:15):
Well, as we mentioned, we're going to be serving a
lot of beef at the Beef Industry Military Appreciation Day
that's special tribute to those in the military world. We'll
do that as the State Fair and it'll be about
anywhere between fifteen hundred and two thousand people in a
short series. That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (18:31):
Yeah, And certainly there's going to be a lot of
beef fun the girls this summer, right, Yeah, A free
choices and what a better way to celebrate our upcoming
birthday and the special anniversary that we have right around
the corner.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
Julie ellingson North Dakota Stockman's Association as executive vice president,
Thank you so much for taking the time to join
us this morning.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
My pleasure, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
This is Dakota Mornings.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
I am your host, Michael Bell, K Fly are five
fifty am a nine point seven FM.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
We and iHeart meet production and we are a wrap
for today.
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