Checkoff Planning Meetings Under Way

State and national beef checkoff representatives are in Denver this week to recommend a budget for Fiscal Year 2010, which begins Oct. 1, 2009, and to begin making program plans for the coming year.

State Beef Council execs are meeting with representatives of the Federation Division of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) to discuss Federation planning efforts today. Beginning tomorrow, May 13, producers who volunteer service on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Federation of State Beef Councils board in chairman and vice chairman capacities on joint checkoff committees will meet to discuss planning priorities set by committees at the 2009 Cattle Industry Annual Convention. They will discuss the current market environment and its implications for the beef industry and will, in the end, direct checkoff staff as to how to prioritize programming requests before submitting proposals for FY2010 funding to the joint committees at the summer conference in July.

On Thursday morning, May 14, the Joint Budget Committee will develop a checkoff budget for FY2010, based on estimated revenues from the Beef Board and the Federation and will review program and operating budget expenses for the current year.  That committee will then establish a budget recommendation for allocation of checkoff funds by budget component, which will be forwarded to the Beef Promotion Operating Committee for its consideration. The Operating Committee will review the budget committee’s recommendation on Thursday afternoon, then forward that recommendation to the full Beef Board for consideration at the 2009 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver July 14-18.

Also this week in Denver, the Beef Board Executive Committee will hold a meeting on Thursday afternoon to review the Operating Committee report, as well as state marketing plans, state audit reports, brand and trade name references, producer communications efforts, and the latest financial report for the national program.

For a copy of the Operating Committee agenda, click HERE, and for the Executive Committee agenda, click HERE.