Matt Deppe, CEO of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association (ICA) was the guest speaker at a recent Thursday weekly Ames Golden K Kiwanis Meeting which continues to be held virtually.

The ICA is one of three organizations that work together at a single location. The other two organizations are Cattlemen Care and the Iowa Beef Industry Council.   The three organizations mission is to Protect, Promote, and Publicize Iowa’s beef industry. Mr. Deppe described how each organization is structured, funded, and their overall scope.      .

Iowa’s beef industry ranks 4th nationally for cattle “on feed”, and usually ranks in the top 10 nationally for the cow/calf industry. Iowa  is also well known nationally as being the home of the “farmer/feeder” which accentuates Iowa’s beef industry diversity. The economic impact totals $6.3 Billion annually, with $4.09 Billion the result of direct spending. Key beef export markets include Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Canada, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

ICA comprises 8,500 members with 97 Iowa county affiliates in 20 geographic districts and 4 regions. They work on issues on the “cattle” side of Iowa’s beef industry, which includes advocacy, education, and leadership. They work very closely with USDA, EPA, and Iowa’s DNR on issues and projects common to the industry, including enhancing the Beef Industry’s public image. An ongoing challenge is developing technology to tackle Animal Disease “Traceability” because of the inherent mobility of the cattle industry. There is also a need for better livestock analytics  data to make decisions by acquiring and analyzing data from individual cattle operations.

Mr. Deppe’s presentation was followed by many questions from the 45 Golden K  and 5 Nevada Kiwanis attendees–and a virtual standing ovation at its conclusion.