CONTACT:
Melissa Slagle
303-867-6306
mslagle@beefboard.org
MEET DAVE
BATEMAN,
2008 CATTLEMEN’S
BEEF BOARD
CHAIRMAN
CENTENNIAL,
Colo. (Feb.
9, 2008) –
Change is all
around us,
inevitable and
often a bit
scary. But it’s
what you do with
change that
matters ... you
can see it as a
barrier or an
amazing
opportunity.
This February,
the Cattlemen’s
Beef Board (CBB)
elected a new
chairman who
embraces change
and sees it as a
stepping stone
to greater
things to come.
Meet Dave
Bateman who
says, “The only
people that like
change are wet
babies and they
cry about it.”
A
fourth-generation
cattleman from
Oregon, Ill.,
Dave has faced
adversity and
change both in
his home and
professional
life.
The farm has
been in the
family since
1896. The
original family
farm is located
near Elburn in
Kane County,
which was at the
time a premier
cattle-raising
county only 50
miles from the
Union Stockyards
in Chicago. With
Dave’s father,
his father, and
father before
that all in the
cattle business,
Dave naturally
grew up working
with cattle. He
soon ventured
out on his own
in partnership
with a mentor,
rented a farm
and the two of
them joined in a
feeding
operation with
between 600 to
900 cattle per
year in the late
‘70s.
But just as farm
and city have
collided, farms
have
consolidated,
and thus the
markets changed,
forcing Dave and
his family to
adapt to a new
way of operating
their cattle
operation.
In the years
leading up to
the sale of the
farm, Dave went
to work with his
landlords and
succeeded in
growing a
200-acre row
crop farm to
1,400 acres
while feeding
approximately
500 head per
year.
In 1995, their
lives began to
change even
more. Dave’s
wife, Carol, was
diagnosed with
Multiple
Sclerosis and in
1998, after
developers
bought the
rented farm
where they
lived, they
moved into town.
The rationale
was “it is
easier to move
two people than
an entire farm.”
That same year,
Dave returned to
Judson College
to pursue
“transferable
job skills” and
received his
bachelor’s
degree in
leadership and
management. Then
in 2004, the
bulk of the
family farm was
sold to a gravel
company.
With the passing
of his mother in
2006, Dave’s
brother Rowland
decided to move
back to the 100+
year-old “home
place” and began
a 15-head cattle
operation with
the help of his
son, Kent. Kent
now works at the
local co-op, but
throughout high
school and
following years,
Kent had worked
with Dave. “Now
our 5th
generation, I
like to think
I’ve helped
train and
encourage Kent
in this
business. His
boys Ryan and
Travis, with 4-H
calves, now
represent the 6th
generation.”
Knowing the
family farm was
in good hands,
and being
located nearer
the city, Dave
changed his
employment
status to what
he refers to as
“semi-retired,”
but meanwhile
still retains
40-acres of the
original farm
and owns
200-head of
cattle that are
custom fed for
him.
In his spare
time, Dave
answered a call
to ministry and
is an
intentional
interim pastor
at a church in
Belvidere, Ill.
He has had
church
consulting
schooling,
mediation
conflict
training and is
also a trained
transitional
minister. His
“job” is to
examine the
history of a
church, the
sources of
conflict and
ways to resolve
it, and to try
to find ways to
plan a better
future for
tomorrow so
mistakes of the
past aren’t
repeated.
“Because of my
continued
education, I
find many
similarities in
my dual role in
life. As we look
at the beef
industry, we are
tied to some
traditions and
reluctant to
change. The
transition from
what we’ve
always been and
done to some new
ways of thinking
are equally
difficult,” Dave
says. “Part of
what I do is
help people see
what CAN be.”
As not only a
life-long
industry
volunteer, but
also now in his
role as CBB
Chairman, Dave
says, “I believe
in what we do, I
believe in our
product, I
believe in what
the industry
stands for, I
believe in the
history from
which we come,
and I believe
that there’s a
future for us as
we adapt to a
changing
society. I hope
to be a catalyst
to help that
change move in a
positive
direction.”
Change is an
evolving
process. Dave
says beef
producers need
to continue to
work with
industry
partners to
stretch the
limit of dollars
the checkoff has
in order to
become the
greatest
influence
possible in the
marketplace. “We
also need to
work very
diligently
toward
developing new
products to help
transition into
the next
generation of
consumers. In
the short term,
we’ll be faced
with difficult
decisions as an
industry because
of shrinking
dollars – which
means we need to
recognize we
can’t be all
things to all
people.”
As a Beef Board
leader looking
ahead, Dave says
he hopes he can
encourage more
participation in
the planning
process with
more producer
involvement and
producer
direction. “It’s
imperative that
producers claim
ownership of
checkoff-funded
programs. Every
voice can be
heard – you can
make a
difference and
influence the
direction of the
industry. It
only requires
involvement and
commitment.”
Since his
nomination to
the CBB by beef
organizations in
Illinois and his
appointment by
the U.S.
Secretary of
Agriculture in
2000, Dave has
served in
various
leadership
positions in
agricultural
industries,
beginning as a
director of
county affiliate
organizations
and continuing
through state
and national
service on
committees,
committee
chairmanships
and officer
positions and
most recently as
CBB vice
chairman. Among
others, Dave is
a past president
of the Kane
County Corn
Growers
Association, the
DeKalb/Kane
Cattlemen’s
Association, the
Illinois Beef
Association and
is a long-time
member of the
Illinois
Livestock
Advisory Board
of
Commissioners.
Dave and Carol
have two
daughters:
Denyse, who with
husband Don
Christensen,
have three
children Kyle,
Katie and Sam;
and Christine,
who with husband
Tim Carey, have
a son Gavin.
The Beef
Checkoff Program
was established
as part of the
1985 Farm
Bill. The
checkoff
assesses $1 per
head on the sale
of live domestic
and imported
cattle, in
addition to a
comparable
assessment on
imported beef
and beef
products. States
retain up to 50
cents on the
dollar and
forward the
other 50 cents
per head to the
Cattlemen’s Beef
Promotion and
Research Board,
which
administers the
national
checkoff
program, subject
to USDA
approval.
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