New Beef Board Leadership

The Cattlemen’s Beef Board seated new board members and elected officers and representatives to its 2008 Executive Committee and the Beef Promotion Operating Committee during its annual meeting in Reno on Feb. 9. In addition, the Beef Board unanimously elected Oregon, Illinois cattleman Dave Bateman to serve as 2008 chairman of the Board, with outgoing chairman Ken Stielow of Kansas handing over the gavel as he ended his chairmanship. Massachusetts dairywoman Lucinda Williams was elected vice chairman, and Dan Dierschke, a cow-calf producer from Austin, Texas, was elected to serve as secretary/treasurer of the Beef Board for the year.  For more information, go to Press Releases.

So Long From The 2008 Convention

It’s time to wrap things up for this time in Reno, NV. I want to thank everyone on the Beef Board and the staff for allowing me the opportunity to provide this coverage of Checkoff activities here. Please remember to look at the Committee pages for updates on the meetings that took place here. Minutes will be available on those pages soon as well.

Feel free to browse back through the posts. Most of them include links to audio file interviews you can listen to on your computer. I have a few more I’ll try to post after getting back home too.

And finally, feel free to browse my online photo album of the convention and use them if you’d like.

New Chairman Dave Bateman

We’ve got a new Chairman of the CBB and he’s Dave Bateman. Here’s Dave, hard at work at today’s annual meeting.

After the meeting I did a short interview with Dave.

He says he feels a mix of excitement and a little bit of anxiety because these are exciting times where there are a lot of programs and fewer dollars to work with.

He’s going to focus on continuing to build beef demand while maintaining confidence and all of the things that are important to consumers.

He says they’ll continue to work diligently to improve the process of distilling what programs are most effective and can best use Checkoff dollars.

Like many here Dave says that although there are some industry factors that don’t look too good right now the mood is very upbeat.

His administration will be one of collaboration using the collective wisdom of all the people who are involved. He also wants producers to know that they can contact any of the officers or board members anytime to offer their input.

You can listen to my interview with Dave here: Dave Bateman Interview (4 min MP3 File)

Tom Ramey Wrap-up

The CEO of the Beef Board, Tom Ramey gave his report during today’s annual meeting and I spoke with him afterward.

At the beginning of the convention we got a preview from Tom, now we get the review.

Tom says that the producers attending here came in extremely enthusiastic and I would echo that based on the conversations I’ve had or overheard throughout the week.

He says that the new planning process they initiated here whereby each committee was tasked with prioritizing their planning factors got off to a good start.

Tom says they’ll use those planning factors in their spring planning and budgeting process.

He also says they talked about some new evaluation processes.

Basically, they want to improve strategic evaluations of Checkoff programs. Currently they do a good job of tactical measurements but they want to link those to their impact on the long range plan.

You can listen to my interview with Tom here: Tom Ramey Interview (5 min MP3 File)

Talking With Neil Kayser

Neil Kayser is a fourth-generation cow-calf producer from Centerville, WA.

He’s now the past Secretary/Treasurer of the Beef Board.

I spoke with him after today’s annual meeting and he says he’ll still be on the board serving on the New Products and Culinary Initiatives Committee. He thinks it’s an exciting committee that’s got a lot on the drawing board.

I asked him how he feels about how Checkoff dollars are handles and he says that until becoming Sec./Treasurer he didn’t realize all the checks and balances that are followed by the staff and the board.

He’s very confident that Checkoff money will be well protected and well spent by whoever serves in that position.

You can listen to my interview with Neil here: Neil Kayser Interview (2 min MP3 File)

CBB Annual Meeting

The business of the Beef Board has concluded with today’s annual meeting. This is the meeting that’s held jointly with the NCBA.

The Beef Board goes first and was started by now past Chairman Ken Stielow who we roasted last night.

I tried to record this morning’s session but for some reason the audio supplied to the press was not working properly but I do have a couple of interviews for you coming up in the next few posts.

Like with a lot of the activities of the Beef Board over the last few days you can find pictures in my online photo album.

Ken The Peacemaker

Apparently outgoing Beef Board Chairman Ken Stielow is known for his peacemaking abilities, so to honor him via a ‘roasting’ of sorts on his way out at the CBB Banquet tonight, he was presented with a few gifts, including a tie-dyed bandana and shirt, and some incense.

His good buddies, the CBB officers, all came up and said a few mostly kind words about Ken, much to our enjoyment.

Ken took it all in stride and made a few comments of his own. I recorded them for you even though he tried to talk me out of it.

So, to listen in on what we watched on stage you can hear Dave Bateman congratulate Ken and then Beef Board CEO Tom Ramey do the same followed by Ken’s comments.

You can listen to the presentation here: A Ken Stielow Goodbye (9 min MP3 File)

Beef Backer Awards

The annual Beef Backer awards were presented at this year’s convention by Vice Chairman, Dave Bateman along with representatives of the various state beef councils that nominated them. The Beef Backer Award recognizes chain and independent restaurant operators who excel in menuing and marketing beef.

Cherry Valley Country Club, a non-commercial establishment, won the “Independent of the Year” award by offering their patrons quality beef in a variety of applications across all menu day parts. Their exceptional commitment to serving “the best” has kept club members happy. Michael Giletto, executive chef of Cherry Valley Country Club, says, “As chefs, we look for the best ingredients to create the menus we design. I’ve found the best quality beef allows me to satisfy any diverse palate.”

Giletto’s commitment this year was not only to continue to put beef on the menu, but to promote beef to the general public, purveyors, club patrons and fellow chefs. Giletto participated in a television show called, “The Digital Cookbook,” demonstrating how to prepare exceptional beef recipes in realistic time. He also shared cooking videos with a children’s TV show to help spark kids’ interest in cooking with beef.

You can listen to Giletto’s remarks here: Cherry Valley Country Club (1 min MP3 File)

You can see and hear all the award winners by clicking on the “more” link here: (more…)

Presenting Awards

This morning things got kicked off with a general session that featured our new U. S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer. Also on the big stage was Beef Board Vice Chairman, Dave Bateman. His job was to present the Beef Backer Awards.

I’ve got pictures of them and recorded their comments so I’m hoping to get that posted soon. Time’s running out this afternoon though. You can find pictures in my online photo album if you’d like to see the winners.

To get a flavor for the presentation I am posting Dave’s introduction and opening comments here for you.

You can listen to Dave get started with the awards here: Presenting Awards (1 min MP3 File)

CBB Update Session

The Beef Board held their update session yesterday to give cattle producers an opportunity to hear information about what’s going on with the Checkoff and discuss things. It’s an official meeting of the Beef Board too.

The agenda included updates from USDA, an introduction of the officer candidates recommended by the Nominating Committee, responsibilites of CBB members and this year a special presentation on the role of importers in the beef industry.

I recorded some of it for you. This audio clip contains the welcome by CBB Board Chairman Ken Stielow and is followed by the USDA update given by Lloyd Day, Administrator, USDA-AMS.

You can listen to the Update Session here: CBB Update Session (13 min MP3 File)

This Year’s USDA Intern

This year’s USDA intern who is a former Beef Ambassador is Christie Molinaro, pictured here with Lloyd Day, Administrator, USDA-AMS.

This is the second year since USDA formalized an intern program with the ANCW’s Beef Ambassador program that’s funded by the Checkoff.

You have to have been an Ambassador to apply for the internship and this year that’s Christie.

Lloyd says that they had already had an informal relationship with the program but it was so successful they decided to make it a more formal one.

Christie is looking forward to learning more about AMS since she says it’s not something they were taught about in school.

You can listen to my interview with Lloyd and Christie here: Lloyd Day and Christie Molinaro Interview (3 min MP3 File)

Speaking of Dairy Beef

One of the speakers at the Dairy Producers Forum was Bridget Baird. She’s the Associate Director, Product Enhancement, in NCBA’s Research and Knowledge Management group. Her responsibilities include project management and research dissemination.

I spoke to her just prior to her presentation and she says she would focus on the work that her group has been involved in. That includes work on all the factors that affect beef quality like tenderness, flavor, juiciness and consistency.

She says that work in this area covers all beef types including dairy beef as well. A lot of her comments come from the Market Cow Muscle Profiling Study that was started in 2000. It’s one of the studies that has provided the impetus behind new beef value cuts.

Bridget makes the observation that data shows that dairy beef is very consistent in quality and that often it’s some of the higher grading beef.

You can listen to my interview with Bridget here: Bridget Baird Interview (2 min MP3 File)

Dairy Producers Forum

Beef and dairy producers were once again able to get together at the convention by attending the annual Dairy Producers Forum.

This year it was chaired by Jenny Senn, South Carolina. Jenny says that she gives all the credit for this great event to Gary Sharp who got it started. She says that originally it was an early morning meeting attended by very few but that now it has grown into a large and well-attended event.

Jenny says that beef and dairy producers have a lot in common and this forum allows them to get together while they’re at the convention to share their views.

This year’s program featured several speakers including a presentation about veal.

You can listen to my interview with Jenny here: Jenny Senn Interview (2 min MP3 File)

Meeting With Importers

At the CBB Update session attendees got to learn more about what meat importers do. One of the people involved in bringing that presentation here is Laurie Bryant (pictured at the new CBB members orientation session).

Laurie serves on the Beef Board Executive Committee. He’s the Executive Director of the Meat Importers Council of America.

I interviewed Laurie about his message to cattle producers. He says that the importer community makes up about 10% of the Beef Checkoff funds and about 20% of the total that goes into international marketing.

He thinks cattle producers need to understand that the importers don’t compete with them but in fact complement them. For example, he says that most of the beef imported is lean grinding meat that complements a declining supply here domestically.

You can listen to my interview with Laurie here: Laurie Bryant Interview (2 min MP3 File)

Finding Beef Satisfying and Nutritional

The Checkoff funds a lot of research and one of the people who has conducted some of that research is Nancy Rodriguez, University of Connecticut, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She’s the director of their Sports Nutrition Program.

Nancy says she’s worked on several studies funded by the Checkoff. The first one looked at the role of beef in the diet of very active young men. The reason was that physically active people often have the misconception that they don’t need to have meat in their diet or they’re concerned that they might be getting too much.

So they fed beef to 3 different groups in different levels. They found that the risk factors for things like heart disease didn’t change. In fact, they also found very positive effects on how their bodies used the protein. She says they felt like it was necessary to show that it was very reasonable to include meat that met a body’s protein needs in the diet.

The research she has conducted is reviewed by scientists and then published in scientific journals. She says it helps scientists better understand the role of beef in nutrition and provides a good resource to use when making nutrition educational materials. She says they’ve also anecdotally found in their studies that people who include beef in their diet feel more “satisfied.”

You can listen to my interview with Nancy here: Nancy Rodriguez (3 min MP3 File)

Being A Beef Ambassador

Here’s the latest group of Beef Ambassadors along with Program Manager, Carol Abrahamson. I spoke with one of them, Jennifer Rassler, Kempton, PA (second from left). She comes from a dairy family and is passionate about beef.

She decided to get involved since there are so many people in her area who are not educated about where their food comes from. She says they’ve already been on the road at several meetings interacting with consumers.

She says that the program is coordinated by the American National Cattle Women and funded by the Beef Checkoff. She wants consumers to know that the beef industry is here for them and that they’re here to provide a safe and nutritious product for their family to eat.

You can listen to my interview with Jennifer here: Jennifer Rassler Interview (2 min MP3 File)

Helping Correct Misconceptions About the Industry

Will Frazee is a brand new Beef Board member who was sworn in yesterday. He’s from Emerson, IA.

I talked to him at the new member orientation session and he says he’s been involved at the state level. He’s interested in how the Checkoff works and what can be done with Checkoff dollars to improve the industry.

He’s very impressed with the people who are already on the Board and those he’s met like him who are just joining.

He wants to help correct some of the misconceptions about the industry and the product.

You can listen to my interview with Will here: Will Frazee Interview (1 min MP3 File)

Talking With New Board Member Dianne Sites

Another new member of the Beef Board is Dianne Sites from Blackwater, MO. Dianne’s husband Tom has also served as a member in the past.

I interviewed Dianne for a weekly program produced by the Missouri Beef Industry Council and thought you’d be interested to hear her talk about how and why she got involved. She says she loves coming to the convention and seeing old friends.

She’s looking forward to learning more about the work and activities of the Beef Board. One of the things she likes that the Board has done is create the pre-cooked products since she has so many friends who tell her they like them.

She feels strongly that you have to promote your own product and that you can’t depend on other people to do it for you.

She says it’s really important for cattle producers to get involved. As she says, “If you stay home you don’t get to vote.”

You can listen to my interview with Dianne here: Dianne Sites Interview (3 min MP3 File)

New Board Member Dave Schubel

One of the new Board members sworn in today is Dave Schubel from New York.

Dave says he first got involved in the beef business in the 1980′s. He’s developed a real passion for the industry.

He considers it an honor to be able to serve on the Beef Board. One of the areas that he’s most interested in is nutrition. For example, he wants to see more work done in the area of genetic research and hopes to be able to help correct erroneous information about beef from a nutrition standpoint.

He says he’s always been impressed by the diversity of backgrounds of all the people who serve on the Board.

You can listen to my interview with Dave here: Dave Schubel Interview (2 min MP3 File)

Partnering With USDA

Before he did his duty of administering the oath to the new Beef Board members this afternoon I interviewed USDA Deputy Administrator of AMS’ Livestock and Seed Program, Craig Morris. Craig says the USDA is a strong partner with the Beef Board.

He says USDA’s primary role is to make sure that the Act and the Order of the Beef Checkoff are followed. To accomplish they work closely with the Board to make sure everything is approved and they offer advice on those things that may or may not comply with the rules.

Craig says that USDA is a strong proponent of all the research and promotion programs.

I also thought it was interesting that he said during he presentation that USDA is a good customer too since they buy a lot of commodities for some of their programs like the school lunch program.

He says that he thinks the future is strong for beef and he wants to help make sure that this powerful marketing tool stays focused on what it’s intended to do.

You can listen to my interview with Craig here: Craig Morris Interview (4 min MP3 File)