Buck Wehrbein, a Nebraska cattleman, ascended to the role of NCBA president during CattleCon 2025, hosted Feb. 4-6 in San Antonio, Texas. Wehrbein, with a 45-year career in the cattle-feeding sector, brings decades of dedication to the industry and leadership experience to NCBA’s top leadership post.

The 2025 NCBA officer team, approved by the NCBA board of directors, took office at the end of this year’s convention. Gene Copenhaver of Virginia was named president-elect and Kim Brackett of Idaho was elected vice president. Skye Krebs of Oregon was elected chair of the NCBA Policy Division and Kenny Rogers of Colorado was elected policy vice chair. Nancy Jackson of Mississippi and Travis Maddock of North Dakota were elected as chair and vice chair of the NCBA Federation Division, respectively. Brad Hastings of Texas will continue to serve in the role of NCBA treasurer.

As president, Wehrbein says, he sees both challenges and opportunities ahead, but he’s confident that NCBA’s unifying presence will remain critical to addressing key issues facing farmers and ranchers. He is particularly passionate about fostering opportunity for the next generation of cattle producers, recognizing their ability to drive innovation and industry progress.

“They’re ahead of where we were in my time,” he notes. “They understand the issues, and they’re ready to make a difference.”

Wehrbein says his focus during his term as president will be to advocate for profit opportunities while also strengthening the freedom to operate. Securing tax relief provisions and pushing back on regulatory overreach are crucial during the year ahead.

Policy priorities approved

While in San Antonio, NCBA’s Executive Committee approved the organization’s policy priorities for 2025. This year, the focus will be on engaging with the Trump administration and Congress to expand opportunities for producer profitability.

“NCBA will continue advocating for passage of a long-term farm bill and pushing to extend the critical tax provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act  that expire at the end of the year. We will also be continuing to fight for more flexibility for grazing and voluntary conservation work that is vital to preventing catastrophic wildfires that have been raging across the country,” says Wehrbein.

“Over the past few years, producers have been increasingly squeezed by onerous regulatory burdens, including unscientific Endangered Species Act  listings and the rapidly changing enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act. This government overreach has prevented meaningful conservation efforts, leaving America’s treasured natural resources in worse condition, and has left cattle producers in a position of great uncertainty, with soaring legal and accounting bills. NCBA is laser-focused on advancing federal policies that will help improve the general business climate and give producers more opportunities moving forward to increase the profitability of their operations.”

Some of NCBA’s additional priorities for 2025 include:

• Work to retain core wins in the 2024 House Agriculture Committee-passed Farm Bill
• Preserve family farms and ranches for future generations by advocating for essential tax relief for cattle producers
• Fight for meaningful long-term relief from the burdensome reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act
• Enhance wildfire prevention utilizing targeted grazing, controlled burns, and forest management practices to protect grazing lands
• Keep working lands working by protecting family farms from undue regulatory burdens under the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and many other key regulations

A full NCBA priorities list is available here.

Editor's note: [Lead photo by JasonDoiy from Getty Images.]

Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA, Vol. 17, No. 2-B