What The Beef Checkoff Does For Dairy Producers

Today we had a Dairy Producer Communications Forum lunch. Thanks to Linda Leydens for the following forum summary.

Gary Sharp (pictured), dairy producer and CBB board member, led the luncheon. Al Svajgr, CBB Chairman spoke about a recent co-sponsorship with the Dairy Checkoff Program at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual meeting. Monte Reese and Jay O’Brien, vice chairman of CBB were present. David Pelzer from Dairy Management attended the luncheon and talked about crisis management programs and partnerships between the two checkoff programs. Linda Leydens from Integer provided an update on dairy producer communications program work, including trade show attendance and public relations. Donna Sharp was recognized for being named Dairy Woman of the Year by the World Dairy Expo.

Dr. Gary Smith, Montfort chair and professor of animal science at Colorado State University, was the keynote speaker and he dispelled any doubts producers may have had about the value beef from dairy breeds brings to the market. Smith said he doubted enough high-quality beef could be supplied to restaurants such as Morton’s and Del Frisco’s without beef from Holsteins. One reason beef from Holsteins consistently scores well in tenderness, quality and taste is that 90 percent of all Holstein sires are descendents of five Holstein bulls. Few breeds can tout such consistency, says Smith. Smith has been closely involved with the beef checkoff-funded National Beef Quality Audit program that evaluates the quality of beef and helps identify measures beef producers can take to increase quality.

I was able to interview Gary after the meeting. You can listen to my interview with Gary here: Gary Sharp Interview (4:19 Min. MP3 File)