WCA: We Need To Share Our Story More Often

The message at last month’s 99th annual Washington Cattlemen’s Association meeting in Wenatchee was a positive one, for both producers and the non-ag community alike.  Chelsea Hajny, Executive Vice President of the WCA, said now is a good time to be in the cow business.

‘We don't always say that the cattle market is hot, prices are high and so that's exciting," she noted.  "Things are on an upswing. A lot of us deal in other agricultural commodities, which are suffering. So, a lot of the topics and the things we are diving into as an industry are looking forward and hopefully to how we rectify and improve some of these situations into 2025.  But going out in 2024, things have been fabulous.” 

Hajny added the good news is expected to continue for a while, with beef prices expected to remain elevated into 2026.

She noted as 2024 comes to a close, one of the areas the WCA has not done a good job is sharing the many accomplishments made by cattle producers.  Hajny added ranchers are humble people, not very eagar to share.

“I've been with  the WCA for not quite three years and that's really been my mission, with a marketing and journalism background, is to help these ranchers tell their stories.  They're doing amazing things in the name of conservation, agriculture, community involvement, you name it.   And we are trying to do a better job to showcase what we do because we don't just feed the world, we create jobs, we create, we create community and we ultimately make the world a better place to be in.”

As she looks to the new year, and the upcoming legislative session, Hajny said she’s fairly optimistic, noting that Washington cattle industry enjoys bipartisan support in Olympia.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com