Overview Of The Cattle Industry Convention

Here’s the Cattlemen’s Beef Board COO, Monte Reese. I caught him for a few minutes between meetings this afternoon and interviewed him so that you can hear him talk about the convention and the process that will be taking place here over the next several days.

Monte describes how the board members are nominated and interviewed and changes that will take place in the make-up of the board this year.  He describes some of the important issues facing the committees over the next several days. 

You can listen to my interview with Monte here: Monte Reese Interview (3MB MP3 file) 

Interview With 2006 National Beef Ambassador

The National Beef Ambassador Team is here.  In fact, the overall winner and the 2006 National Beef Ambassador is Amanda Nolz from Mitchell, SD.  I interviewed Amanda about the program.  She describes the competition and what she and the team of ambassadors will be doing throughout the year.  She has her own cattle and discusses how the work she’s doing will benefit all cattlemen.  The program is sponsored by the Beef Checkoff. 

You can listen to my interview with Amada here:  Amanda Nolz Interview  (2MB MP3 file)

Welcome To Denver And The Annual Convention

Hello and welcome to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board blog from the 2006 Cattle Industry Convention in Denver, CO.  I’d like to introduce myself.  I’m Chuck Zimmerman and I’ll be your agriblogger for the rest of the week, posting news and information about the activities and meetings taking place here. 

The Denver Convention Center is the where all the activity will take place this week for the Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show. They’ve put up some pretty strange artwork around the outside like this huge blue bear that’s peeking into the windows. No one I’ve talked with understands the significance of the bear. I guess it’s just “art.” 

 You’ll find links to pages for each committee that will be meeting here this week, along with the minutes from the last meeting.  We’ll be posting updates on those pages as we  get them so you can have the most current information available about all that’s being discussed and decided.  Here in the central column of the blog I’ll post news and announcements that will include pictures and links to interviews I’ll conduct in coming days.  I hope you like what you see and that you find this new communications mechanism to be informative and helpful.

Welcome from CBB Chairman Al Svajgr

2006 Cattle Industry Convention
Denver, CO
Feb 1 – Feb. 4, 2006

We certainly enjoyed another good year in the beef industry, with strong cattle prices throughout 2005 and consumer confidence in the safety of our product remaining extremely high. And while the sustained price strength has been a welcomed opportunity for producers who have seen some rough times over recent decades, we must not rest on our laurels because a strong beef industry does not happen without continuous effort on our part.

The Beef Checkoff Program enjoyed continued success during the year as well, led by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that the checkoff is, in fact, constitutional. With that ruling in place and the ensuing dismissal of the similar Charter case in Montana, we have the opportunity to renew our focus on building demand for beef and, as a result, continue to create opportunities for improved profitability for producers.

During meetings through the summer and fall of 2005, producers who sit on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, state beef councils, and joint advisory committees for the checkoff helped set priorities for the current fiscal year and reviewed project proposals from numerous beef industry organizations to achieve those priorities.  In September, the Beef Promotion Operating Committee and USDA approved the final slate of promotion, research and information projects for checkoff funding in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2005.

At the 2006 Cattle Industry Convention in Denver – where we’ll kick off another year-long planning process  for the Beef Checkoff Program – we have the opportunity to celebrate our successes and work on solutions to our challenges. With the Supreme Court’s decision in place, let’s make a concerted effort to cooperate – to work together to identify the priorities for investment of our $1-per-head checkoff.

Part of our joint efforts at this convention will include producer review of a newly recommended Beef Industry Long Range Plan to identify our direction and goals for the next five years. It’s important that all producers get involved in reviewing and setting these long-term goals, so I encourage you to share your thoughts and be part of the process. With that in mind, I look forward to working with you at this convention toward building a strong future for ourselves and for future generations.

Sincerely,

Al Svajgr
Chairman, Cattlemen’s Beef Board
Cozad, Nebraska

Welcome To BeefBoardMeeting.com

Hello and welcome to BeefBoardMeeting.com.  This website will provide you with news, announcements and other information from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board meeting in Denver in just a few short weeks.