9:30 am – 11:15 am
MA 102- Alliances- Real Life Experiences - John Butler, Tom Woodward, Rancher’s Renaissance; Ronnie Green, Future Beef Operations; James Henderson, B3R Country Meats

An Inside Look At Alliances

The audience set the tone for the "Alliances: Real Live Experiences" session during the Cattlemen’s College Wednesday, Jan. 29. Sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health, the Cattlemen’s College educational forum was held in conjunction with the 2003 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show in Nashville, Tenn.

The alliance session was devoted to allowing the audience to ask questions of a four-member panel. Patsy Houghton moderated the panel, which consisted of John Butler, president and CEO or Rancher’s Renaissance; Tom Woodward of Broseco Ranch and a participant in Rancher’s Renaissance; Ronnie Green, currently of DataGen Beef, but formerly of Future Beef Operations; and James Henderson, president of the beef division of Petulma.

Questions ranged from "What are the costs and benefits of an alliance?" to "How will case-ready beef affect your alliance?"

While all three alliances were built with similar intentions -- increasing product consistency while improving efficiencies and increasing producer profitability – all have gone through significant changes since their origin. To be successful, alliances have to be dynamic, Henderson noted. "If it’s not a learning process, it isn’t a very good model." Participants should expect to see changes in their programs.

All three alliances represented on the panel said they believed producer participants of their programs were better off today. Green said that even though the Future Beef Operations went into bankruptcy, the producers who participant were beneficiaries of the program because of the information they gleaned and because much of the money the company lost ended up in the producer sector. Henderson said B3R participants are better able to grasp information and have a better understanding of what consumers want. Woodward said participating in Rancher’s Renaissance had been a profitable venture for them, but the biggest advantage was being engaged in the process of producing the product for the consumer.

Please revisit this site for more in-depth coverage of this session.

-- by Shauna Rose Hermel