Betty Jo Gigot, Editor and Publisher

Richard McDonald, president and CEO of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association, has been a driving force in the continued success of the cattle feeding industry.

The search for excellence could well be the mantra of the 32 years Richard McDonald has spent with the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. McDonald has had the opportunity to participate and oversee some of the most far-reaching advancements in an industry he has served with a dedication and commitment that has brought him the respect of all who know him. TCFA’s membership area – AKA “Cattle Feeding Country” – encompasses 30 percent of all the fed cattle marketed in the U.S., a responsibility that McDonald has accepted with aplomb.

A native of South Texas, McDonald graduated from Texas A&M and obtained his doctorate degree from LSU in breeding and statistics.

“My dream was to become a beef specialist,” McDonald said. He became one at Texas A&M, running the university program before going to work for TCFA in 1974. He became president and CEO in 1988.

Providing the tools and information
McDonald is very specific about his job description. “My job is to help the volunteer leaders lead by seeing that they have the tools and the proper information they need.”

Those tools have changed drastically through the years, with TCFA riding in the forefront of many advancements. McDonald cited some of the more significant ones. The first state cattlemen’s association to implement a Beef Safety and Quality Assurance Program (BSQA), TCFA’s program has served as the template for beef quality assurance efforts now in place in nearly every state. TCFA’s BSQA Program includes HACCP principles and recognizes feedyards for meeting strict requirements. Feedyards must be audited by TCFA, and then must re-qualify every year to keep their certification.

Always on the leading edge, TCFA is the only association to carry certification from the USDA Quality System Assessment. The staff works with members, developing paperwork for the age and source verification required to export beef to Japan. Other programs include environmental services, as well as a stringent employee-safety certification system.

McDonald also keeps a close eye on regulatory issues. Between state and federal government, feedyards in Texas must adhere to regulations from more than 20 different agencies.

“The turnover for those agencies is very high,” McDonald said. Part of the association’s responsibility is to keep track of the agencies and their representatives so they can be in place to look after the member’s best interests when necessary.

“One of our responsibilities is to see that all members are treated the same,” McDonald said. “I feel we have been consistent and that we have provided services of value to all of our members.”

McDonald knows better than most that it’s impossible to please all of the people, all of the time. But his vision of TCFA encompasses its diverse membership. “I think we will continue to see different types of operations [becoming TCFA members],” he said. “Some organizations hedge all of their animals, others none. Some specialize in calves or heifers or yearlings, while some have large pasture operations. The larger ones may fit one niche and the smaller ones another, but I think all will be profitable. Each will have to decide what works best.”

A vision for animal identification
“Animal ID must be simple, flexible and competitive,” McDonald said. “If all I want is ID, that is what I should get. If I want more information out of the system, then I should be able to get that.”

McDonald has a very simple vision of what a system should look like. “I envision a black strap with all of the electronics inside that you can lay anywhere. Lay it out in the alley or over the chute, anywhere you want to identify cattle.

“I know that people are tired of my analogy about cell phones, but remember when you had the bag phone and you have to notify people if you were going out of the area? Now, you can use any company, and the networks all work together, no matter what phone you have or where you are. Surely we can do the same thing with the national ID system. It needs a central base and must be competitive so that it will continue to develop and advance. I see it as a partnership between private and public. The government can trace the premises; private companies can do the rest.”

One development McDonald finds troubling is the competition within the industry. “Our competition is pork and poultry and we can not forget that,” McDonald said. “We all have to try to gain efficiency.”

McDonald sees changes in communications as the biggest advancement in his tenure with TCFA. Going from traveling across the state for manager’s workshops (which they still do) to conference calls, weekly emailed newsletters and updating association handbooks over the Web, he appreciates the ability to transfer information to the members – although information itself has its problems.

“It is difficult to sort through all of the information and decide what is valuable and credible. There is a lot of information to sift through as we try to weed out the usable information that will help our members do their jobs better.

Time to do something different
McDonald is retiring from TCFA in late February, turning over the reins to Ross Wilson, who has worked with McDonald for 21 years.

“Now is the time to do something different,” McDonald said. “I will still continue with the industry, doing special projects and possibly a little golfing and fishing. I will really miss the good officers and members I have had a chance to work with, and the staff. I am really proud of the staff. My hope is that the association will continue to do better.”

One of McDonald’s last official acts will be to attend his 33rd straight national cattlemen’s convention.

Dee Likes, vice president of Kansas Livestock Association, has a hard time visualizing McDonald in retirement. “When Richard is not working, he is thinking about working,” Likes said. “I never saw anyone who was so dedicated to getting proper representation for his constituents.” How true.