debbiecoffey

Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman), wife of Ladd Drummond, a BLM wild horse holding facility contractor, was keynote speaker at the 2018 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention

Ree Drummond on the stage at the 2018 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention

by Debbie Coffey

On Ree Drummond’s blog (The Pioneer Woman), under a photo of the fancy boots she wore to speak at the 2018 National Cattlemen’s Beef Association convention, Ree states:

“Finally, I shared this on Facebook but wanted to share it here too: I did not grow up in the country.  I can’t saddle a horse.  For years I thought heifer and Hereford were the same word.  And last week I delivered the keynote address to the big, annual gathering of the National Cattlemen’s Association.  I don’t do many speaking gigs these days because it takes precious time away from my teenagers, but this was one that Ladd and I could attend together, and we enjoyed the quick trip to Phoenix and back.  The irony of me speaking to 3,500 cattlemen and cattlewomen was not lost on me, and it was an honor to speak about how much I’ve enjoyed sharing glimpses of ranch life on my blog, TV show, and social media for the past twelve (!) years.  And at the very least, I was banking on these boots making up for all my agricultural shortcomings.”

In a classic example of irony, Ree stands in front of the sign “Cattle First.”

Ree Drummond uses the images of wild horses in promoting her cooking show, The Pioneer Woman, on packaging for her Pioneer Woman cookware products, in her Pioneer Woman cookbooks and on her Pioneer Woman blog.

All the while, Drummond Land & Cattle Co., co-owned by Ree’s husband, Ladd Drummond, has been paid over $20 million in taxpayer dollars to warehouse captured wild horses on his private property as a Bureau of Land Management off-range pasture contractor.  (Talk about buttering your bread on both sides.)

Yet, it’s not likely that Ree said a word about saving America’s wild horses during her keynote speech to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

For many years, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) has been pushing for the slaughter of America’s wild horses & burros, and their organization was listed on the Steering Committee of the secretive “Slaughter Summit” held in Utah in 2017.  The NCBA also “applauded” the recent Stewart Amendment that would allow all wild horses & burros in BLM holding facilities, and tens of thousands more on public lands, to be killed.

Ree uses wild horses to promote her business interests, and yet at this time of crisis for America’s wild horses & burros, she seems to support the organization that is pushing for their mass killing.

Ree received a Distinguished Service Award from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

 

22 comments

  1. We American taxpayers are paying Drummond Land and Cattle Co. more per DAY ($1.97 per day long-term holding) than welfare ranchers pay to use our public lands per MONTH ($1.41).
    What a scam!

    Liked by 2 people

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  3. I’d like to see more on their income versus costs. How much is the wild horse contract contributing to their overall business? Just a total dollar amount doesn’t reveal the whole picture. It may well be a drop in the bucket, or it may be the pot of gold that floats their cattle business. It is an outright disgrace, though, that grazing fees for cattle (cow and calf) and sheep (5) are less than what we pay for one horse to be kept off the range. Not to even mention the costs of rounding them up, processing, attempting to adopt (if any), then overseeing the contract for their long term off range care. A comprehensive accounting is in order, and long overdue.

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    • A bit more data:
      USDA subsidy information for Ladd Drummond
      Ladd Drummond received payments totaling $616,306 from 1995 through 2016
      And more:
      Rank Name Location Subsidy Total
      1995-2016
      1 F Ford Drummond II Pawhuska, OK 74056 $ 1,057,780.67
      2 Tim Drummond Pawhuska, OK 74056 $ 663,857.10
      3 Ladd Drummond Pawhuska, OK 74056 $ 616,306.00
      4 Nan Drummond Pawhuska, OK 74056 $ 591,588.00
      5 Thatcher Frederick Drummond Pawhuska, OK 74056 $ 351,185.00

      Liked by 2 people

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      • Thanks GG — looks like a lot of cash to use to prop up cattle businesses, with only a few expenses for wild horses to consider. Everything I hear about the cattle business is that it is low-margin and high cost (part of why grazing fees were dropped again), so surely these wild horse holding contracts make a big difference in their bottom line. And with the latest large corporate tax reductions, they should be more profitable than ever, so why aren’t grazing fees raised to match private grazing fees?

        Liked by 3 people

      • Another thought, this is all taxable income, right? Have the income taxes been paid on the public monies dispensed to these private businesses over the years? Are losses in their cattle businesses being used to offset this income for tax purposes?

        Liked by 1 person

  6. I enjoy watching Pioneer Woman for cooking tips, but will certainly address the fact that she and husband Ladd are landowners housing AMERICA’S WILD HORSES in holding facility hell on their ranch… all the while making MILLION. I am very discouraged in learning these facts and if true will no longer watch or promote Pioneer Woman. GREED is EVIL! The wild horses BELONG on Public Lands in designated “Herd management areas” in the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act… I don’t care what these billionaire cattle ranchers think/say/want!

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. What a joke this woman is!! She can’t saddle a horse?! But she bills herself “Pioneer Woman”? What kinda “pioneer” is she thinking ? The kind in Architectural Digest ?

    Liked by 2 people

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  8. The public lands should be free-roaming for the wildlife that has been living on it for centuries.
    The cattlemen (and women) have plenty of land to graze on….they do not need to be using land that belongs to the government, (and us, the taxpayers!), to graze their cattle.
    Hopefully their greed which has been causing this issue for years, will be seen and the American people will finally put an end to it.
    As for Pioneer Woman: No respect for you, or what you do…and even less for your husband.

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  14. We are responsible for caring for GOd’s animals! How much money does it take for those who have it before they give some to those less fortunate! Disappoints me with her!!!

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