Last modified: Monday, October 27, 2008 11:02 AM PDT Brock Hough, cattle buyer for Agri Beef, uses his hands to make a point while speaking to the Malheur County Cattlemen Thursday at the Sizzler Restaurant. Cattlemen discuss issues in annual fall meeting By LARRY MEYER ARGUS OBSERVER ONTARIO — Niche marketing of beef to specific consumer groups was one of the themes at the Malheur County Cattlemen’s Association fall meeting held Thursday at the Sizzler in Ontario, as well as reports on the status of various lawsuits by environment groups challenging range-management plans issued by the United States Bureau of Land Management. Representatives of branded beef products spoke about their companies and the benefits of their programs. Agri Beef, headquartered in Boise, is a producer of “premium branded beef products,” cattle buyer Brock Hough said.   Consumers don’t want to know every detail, but want source verification, he said. “They want quality and safety. We’re a family business and plan to stay in the Northwest,” Hough said. “We’ve got strong brand recognition.” Painted Hills Natural Beef, based in Wheeler County, was a company formed of necessity, according to Mehrten Homer, one of it founders. It was formed when some ranchers began looking for a way to stay in business. “We needed to do something different,” Homer said. “We do what the housewife wants. The market is the housewife.” Painted Hills markets its meat up and down the West Coast and as far as New York but stays away from the big retailers. One of the two feed lots the company uses is Maags, north of Vale. Dan Culbertson, of Oregon Country Natural Beef, said the company organized 22 years ago and not only took the natural beet route, with vegetarian diets for the cattle, but it sells to people who prefer less marbling and has its practices for producing its meat certified by an independent agency.  Cattle producers retain full ownership of their cattle, he said, and  members also go out on promotional events and meet with the people behind the meat counters and the consumers. Carolina Freeborn, BLM Jordan Resource Area manager, said the Southeast Oregon Resource Management plan, which is the main guide to management of the public land, was upheld by the U.S. District Court after it was challenged in a lawsuit filed by environmentalists. However, that decision was overturned by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court. The issues were off-road vehicles and wilderness characteristics. “The Ninth Circuit completely rolled us” instead of just overturning the two sections, Freeborn said. The BLM has for file reconsideration by the court to at least allow the part the justices did not take issue with, but Freeborn said she was not optimistic because the case could be back before the same panel of judges. “We’re at the mercy of Ninth Circuit,” she said.