As NCBA’s New Communications Director, Adams Advocates for Agriculture

By Chase Adams, NCBA Director of Communications

I am pleased to join the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) as the Director of Communications for NCBA’s Washington, D.C., office, filling the position left by Mike Deering, who returned to Missouri as the Executive Vice President of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association.

As a native of Wyoming, I grew up in cattle country. I have always had a passion for agriculture and ranching. During my career I’ve held a number of positions in agriculture from working at the sale barn in Belle Fourche, S.D. to agriculture journalism, which was a nice change from doing to the work to talking about it. I received my bachelor’s degree in political science from Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D. in 2005. After graduation I took a year off from school and started working for a large radio station, KBHB in Sturgis, S.D. KBHB has been broadcasting to the farming community since 1962, but had never had a farm director or been a member of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB).

I continued my education at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where I earned my law degree in 2009. I came back to the Black Hills area and set up a small law practice in Sturgis. As an attorney, I intended to focus on property law, but was drawn to criminal defense and the courtroom. As a criminal attorney, I had the opportunity to take on a number of jury trials and gained tremendous experience in a short period of time. While practicing law I still worked as KBHB’s radio farm director and was a member of NAFB. In addition I was a lobbyist in the South Dakota legislature for our state’s sheep industry which gave me great insight into the state legislative process.

Throughout my career I have had the privilege to serve on a number of boards. Last year, I was elected from the broadcast council of NAFB to represent the Western region on the board of directors. I also served on the board for the Days of ‘76 Museum which celebrates Deadwood, South Dakota’s historic rodeo. The museum’s board oversaw the construction of a new $6.5 million facility to house the museum’s world class collection of historic horse-drawn vehicles and the merger of Deadwood’s four museums under one umbrella of Deadwood History, Inc.

The opportunity I have had to work as a farm broadcaster has been invaluable to be able to report on agriculture; not only in the High Plains region, but on issues across the nation. I have had the chance to meet with and get to know such a wide array of ranchers, farm groups, agricultural leaders and Congressional members. I look forward to bringing these experiences to the NCBA and our nation’s capital for the benefit of our members and the beef community as a whole.

My passion has always been agriculture and communicating its triumphs and struggles. I am a firm believer in the work being done by NCBA on behalf of cattlemen and women and as communications director for the organization, I now have the opportunity to use my skills and my background to aid in that effort. I relish this opportunity as this is a vital time to be here in Washington D.C., working for our nation’s cattlemen and women. With the farm bill, death tax and an abundance of rules and regulation on the forefront, I think it is more important now than ever to have NCBA leading the charge on these issues and I look forward to ensuring those messages are communicated back to the ranching community.

As director of communications for NCBA, it is my goal to use my understanding of the legal, legislative and rulemaking systems and my background and contacts in farm broadcasting to ensure we communicate to cattlemen and women the best information available about the issues that affect their livelihood. NCBA is the definitive voice of the beef industry, and I will work hard to make that voice heard loud and clear.