New Beef Board Officers
Posted by Chuck – February 5th, 2011
The last business conducted during the Board of Directors meeting was the electing of new officers. The nominating committee announced their slate and a vote passed their nominations.
New officers include Chairman, Tom Jones, Arkansas (pictured), Vice-Chair, Wesley Grau, New Mexico and Secretary/Treasurer, Weldon Wynn, Arkansas.
I joined with Ron Hayes, Radio Oklahoma Network and Stewart Doane, AgriPulse, in interviewing Tom as the new chairman right after the meeting. Tom says getting to work right away on the new Beef Industry Long Range plan is his priority.
You can listen to our interview with Tom here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Board Meeting Business
Posted by Chuck – February 5th, 2011
The Cattle Industry Convention concludes with a joint meeting of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Board of Directors. Business moved very swiftly with one of the notable actions being a unanimous vote to approve the Beef Industry Long Range plan by both boards!
During the Beef Board portion of the meeting several reports are given that include the financial report. This was done by Robert Fountain, Secretary/Treasurer. I recorded his report for you.
You can listen to Robert’s Financial Report here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Opportunity For A Laugh
Posted by Chuck – February 5th, 2011
At the Cattle Industry Convention a lot of work gets done but there are social enjoyment opportunities. At this year’s convention that included the Cowboy Comedy Club and comedian Larry The Cable Guy.
Beef Board members concluded their banquet in time to take part in this convention activity and Larry was good for a lot of laughs. Your Beef Board Blogger made it through part of his presentation before needing to call it quits for the day. More photos are in the photo album.
Honoring Outgoing Board Members
Posted by Chuck – February 5th, 2011
At the annual CBB Banquet which ended Beef Board activities for Friday, it was time to honor the outgoing members. One of those is Chairman Dan Dierschke. Dan was presented a nice plaque by Vice Chair Tom Jones and Sec./Treasurer Robert Fountain. Dan expressed how much his time on the Board and especially as chairman meant to him as a “servant” of all cattle producers.
You can find pictures from the banquet which includes all the outgoing members and their plaques in my photo album.
Cooking Up New Products
Posted by Chuck – February 5th, 2011
One of the more interesting committees meeting on Friday was the Joint New Products & Culinary Initiatives Committee. As you can see, it wasn’t all about listening to presentations and having discussion. It also involved a group cooking exercise with some new steaks from a beef cut you might not think would offer a new product.
I spoke with committee chair, Richard Thorpe, Texas. He says they’re looking at value added and ways to use different part of the beef carcass to add value to the producer. In the cooking exercise they used the San Antonio steak that comes from the round portion of the carcass and are looking at what thicknesses would offer the best option for the consumer.
You can listen to my interview with Richard here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Conducting Producer Communications
Posted by Chuck – February 5th, 2011
Grassroots work on the business of the Beef Checkoff was in full force on Friday. This was one of many scenes you could see wandering around the Colorado Convention Center.
Conducting producers communications is a specific task of the Beef Board and the committee that oversees it was one of the ones meeting on Friday, led by Wesley Grau, New Mexico.
I caught up with Wesley after his meeting was over. He says that they provide information to producers about the Beef Checkoff and conduct surveys to make sure it is working. In looking at priorities for the new year he says they want to make sure they keep the Beef Checkoff in front of the public and that producers feel confident in the work being done. He says they talked about the future and the betterment of the beef industry.
You can listen to my interview with Wesley here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Helping Educate Producers
Posted by Chuck – February 5th, 2011
It was committee time on Friday at the Cattle Industry Convention. I visited several of them and you can find photos in our online photo album from the link below.
The first one I visited was Joint Producer Education Committee, Chaired by Dr. John Maas, pictured. I spoke with him about his committee. John says the purpose of this committee is to not only do what the title says, but also deal with a whole variety of things like the Cattlemen To Cattlemen TV show and the Beef Quality Assurance program. He says that they really do a lot of “background” work that manifests itself through all the other more visible programs like advertising and public relations.
You can listen to my interview with John here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Beef Board Chairman
Posted by Chuck – February 4th, 2011
The Chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board is Dan Dierschke, Texas, pictured being interviewed this morning. One of the officer duties is to be available to the media during the summer meeting and annual convention. Hopefully, it’s a mostly enjoyable task!
I was one of Dan’s interviewers this morning and got him to take a look back at the last year and a look ahead. Dan is especially interested in exports of beef since that’s an area he’s worked in for a long time and recently export sales have seen significant increases which brings a good return to cattle producers. He is very gratified to see the strong producer support of the Beef Checkoff as shown by the most recent producer attitude survey.
You can listen to my interview with Dan here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Meet Your Beef Ambassadors
Posted by Chuck – February 4th, 2011
Members of the new team of National Beef Ambassadors showed up at the Cattle Industry Convention. Pictured are (l-r) Kelli Fulkerson, Michigan, Jessica Sweet, California, Kristen Stufft, Pennsylvania and Austin Joyce, Texas. Not with us is Maddy Ruble, South Dakota. I interviewed them all together.
I first asked them why they chose to pursue becoming a beef ambassador and you’ll hear some very different answers. The team is obviously very passionate about the beef industry and I think they’ll be good advocates for us. We also talked about the events they’ll be going to and they made a point of saying that if anyone has ideas for a place they should be to please contact the American National CattleWomen. Please check out the Beef Ambassador Blog too!
You can listen to my interview with the new Ambassadors here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Management Report From Tom Ramey
Posted by Chuck – February 3rd, 2011
During today’s CBB Update Session Tom Ramey, CEO, gave his management report. He started out by saying that as a new year begins with new members coming onto the board, he can’t imagine any that will work any harder than those he’s had the honor to serve this past year. Tom says that some CEO’s are drivers of change in their organization and forces to be reckoned with. He, however, sees himself as a servant leader, serving all beef producers across the country. He believes he’s put together a professional staff that he’s extremely proud of and thinks producers should be too.
Tom details a number of major projects that have been worked on in the past year and says that the Office of Inspector General has selected the Beef Checkoff for an audit this year. To date though the staff have not received any requests for information or a time frame on when auditors would begin their work.
Tom says that in the last six months he thinks “the biggest challenge we have faced is our own anxiety, of our future, of change, of the unknown.” He says the industry is under siege on many fronts and the future is unclear and this is frightening. But he says that by embracing change and looking to the future confidently while trusting each other and working for the good of the whole amazing things happen.
You can listen to Tom’s report here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Tell Your Farm Story With Social Media
Posted by Chuck – February 3rd, 2011
Once again this year, the Dairy Producer Forum featured information on the use of social media to help tell the farm story to the consumer. On the program was Stan Erwine, V.P. Producer Relations, Dairy Management, Inc. Also from DMI and participating by phone was Jolene Griffin. They gave a very thorough look at why it’s so important today to help connect the consumer to where their food comes from. Social media has been the newest addition to the Dairy Checkoff program of training producers and providing them resources to speak for themselves.
Stan told me that as they have looked at fulfilling the Dairy Checkoff goal of increasing the consumption and sales of U.S. dairy products they realized the need to also continue to educate consumers by telling them “how we care for our animals, how we care for the environment and all the safeguards that are in place to ensure high quality dairy and beef products.” The goal is to fill the void of good information and put a face on the industry. Stan says they have resources that allow a producer to enter at any level they are comfortable with. He says that social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter allow producers to share information with people who have their own online communities of friends and followers. That’s how the information gets spread out.
You can listen to my interview with Stan here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Dairy Beef Quality Assurance Award Winner
Posted by Chuck – February 3rd, 2011
One of this year’s winners of the Beef Quality Assurance Award is John Ligo, LiTerra Farms, Mercer, Pa. He’s pictured here during today’s Dairy Producer Forum lunch with his wife Judy. I spoke with John about his award afterward. He says that they started their dairy farm about 20 years ago and it has been very good to them so they feel like they “owe our cows a great debt.”
John says they also raise beef cattle and he has served on the Pennsylvania Beef Council where he received BQA training. He says the goal is to provide wholesome products and enhance consumer confidence. He says they feel like they can accomplish that by taking good care of their animals. You can hear him describe some of the ways he does this in my interview with him here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The Beef Checkoff Is Strong
Posted by Chuck – February 3rd, 2011
During today’s general session we heard from Tom Jones, Vice Chair of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. He started off saying that he wanted everyone to know that “our Beef Checkoff is strong.” He says it’s stronger in the minds of producers around the country than it has ever been and cites the most recent producer attitude survey. He said “We’re doing our job and our producers appreciate it and that’s a good thing.” He then thanked the 106 volunteers who have been appointed to the Board and those who have served in the past. He also mentioned the staff of eleven people who do exemplary work and all the partners and contractors that work with the Checkoff.
You can listen to Tom’s remarks here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Draft of Beef Industry Long-Range Plan
Posted by Chuck – February 3rd, 2011
Your Beef Board Blogger is on location finally and collecting photos and interviews and audio to share during the remainder of this year’s convention. First up is the draft version of the Beef Industry Long-Range Plan 2011-2013 which has been presented here at the convention. It will be discussed and refined I’m sure. The hope is that it will be adopted in a final version by the end of this meeting so work can get started on the 3 year plan.
To get an idea of what it has taken to get the plan put together and what’s in it I spoke with Long Range Plan Task Force Member Charlie Mostek, Tyson (pictured right, next to cattleman Charles Miller, former Beef Board member and co-chair of the task force, KY). Charlie is one of 23 members on the task force which is made up of a variety of industry organizations. He says that makes it unique. Also making it unique is the fact that it’s a three year plan instead of five as has been done in the past. This effort is an outgrowth of work that had already been done by NCBA, the Beef Board and the Federation of State Beef Councils.
One of the things that struck me in looking at published notes on the draft is this from the Vision statement, “An industry united around a common goal . . . ” The plan lays out some specific target goals like increasing the value of exports 25% per head. You can listen to my interview with Charlie here:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
I am taking photos from Beef Board activities as well as others taking place here during the convention which you can find in this photo album:
2011 Cattle Industry Convention Photos
Connecting Consumers to Their Food Sources
Posted by Diane – February 3rd, 2011
On the agenda for the session were leaders for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the American National CattleWomen, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the Beef Industry Long Range Plan Task Force, as well as Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Richard Picciotto, the last fireman to escape the devastation of the World Trade Center.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper
Gov. Hickenlooper drove home the need to bring consumers closer to their food sources, in an age different from the one in which he and his parents grew up — where you either lived on a farm, were near one or, at the very least, visited friends or family who lived on a farm. The lack of direct experience with agriculture, Hickenlooper said, keeps urban Americans removed from their food sources and allows myths to invade their pictures of farm life.
Other industry representatives, including CBB Chairman Dan Dierschke, focused on the need for the industry to work together as it moves forward. And, Dierschke said, thanks in part to the checkoff, the industry as a whole has a lot to be proud of.
CBB Chairman Dan Dierschke
“For 25 years now, we’ve pooled our dollars to create a national beef promotion campaign with a tagline that’s recognized by 86 percent of consumers — something even the biggest corporations with exponentially largers budgets would be proud of,” Dierschke said.
“…We have a program that benefits the bottom line for our individual operations, even when times are tough. And while our checkoff cannot single-handedly turn around a bad market or improve our economy, it can and does improve our ability to survive during tough times and thrive during better times.
“So today I ask each and every one of you to think about how the checkoff is important to you as an individual producer,” Dierschke said. “And I ask that you take those values into your committee meetings this week, as you help lay out plans for investing our scarce checkoff dollars in the coming years. “
CBB Tour of Duty Just Beginning
Posted by Diane – February 2nd, 2011
It might be a tough task for some producers who like to stick to their business and their families, and stay out of the ‘politics’ of running their farm or ranch, but it’s a necessity that all producers start to speak out for themselves to defend the future of their operations and their industry. That’s one of the reasons that Brenda Black is here at the Cattle Industry Convention this week.
Brenda is a cow-calf producer from Missouri, as well as being a mother, a writer — and one of the incoming members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. And she’s proud of each of those roles and wants to share that pride by telling the beef story to consumers, for the benefit of the entire industry. That’s at the core of her goals as a Beef Board member: to serve her industry and help her fellow producers do the same.
CBB Media Manager Melissa Slagle had a nice conversation with Brenda about her new job as a Beef Board member. Take a listen here: Brenda Black.
CBB Tour of Duty Complete
Posted by Diane – February 2nd, 2011
Beef Board member Virginia Davis of Indiana has been a very active member of the Board throughout two full terms, including her final meeting as chairman of the CBB Administration Subcommittee this morning. As an outgoing Board member, this convention is somewhat bittersweet for someone who gave so much — but as she told incoming Board members today — believes she got 10 times what she gave in return.
“I say, be an active member of the Board,” she told incoming members at a new-member luncheon today. “What you get out of it depends on what you put in, and I guarantee you that if you put your all into it, you’ll get at least 10 times that in return.”
CBB Media Manager Melissa Slagle spent a couple of minutes with Virginia this afternoon, summing up her service on the Beef Board and offering a word of advice to those following her. Listen here to the Virginia Davis interview.
CBB Executive Committee On Task
Posted by Diane – February 2nd, 2011
Executive Committee Chairman Tom Jones (CBB Vice Chairman) and CBB Chairman Dan Dierschke
The CBB Exeuctive Committee had a busy meeting this morning, with a detailed report about the proposed Long Range Plan for the beef industry, a brief synopsis of the results of the latest producer attitude survey, and an updated financial report among the items on the extensive agenda.
Members of the Executive Committee also discussed extension of the Joint Committee Coordination Agreement between the Beef Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. CBB Chairman Dan Dierschke pointed out that NCBA leadership had reviewed and also were pleased with the agreement, which the Executive Committee extended through September 2011, to get it in line with the checkoff’s fiscal year, rather than with the calendar year.
In his update of the Producer Attitude Survey, CBB Vice President of Communications Lynn Heinze pointed out that an increasing percentage of producers voiced support for the checkoff and a strong majority said they believe the checkoff is there for them in times of crises. Lynn will be giving a detailed report of the results at the Joint Producer Communications Committee meeting on Friday.
The Administrative Side of Things
Posted by Diane – February 2nd, 2011
CBB Administration Subcommittee Chairman Virginia Davis and Vice Chairman Dan Hinman
Members of the CBB Administration Subcommittee got started early this morning, reviewing administrative activities and responsibilities of the Beef Board. Chairman Virginia Davis of Indiana and Vice Chairman Dan Hinman of Idaho led discussions and approval of the Fiscal 2011 CBB Administration Budget amendment and a full review of the evaluations that Beef Board members submitted about the 2010 summer conference.
From those evaluations came a discussion about communications from Beef Board staff to Beef Board members, with direction from the committee for staff to provide easier direct access to meeting minutes, if possible, and to add clear subject lines to Board Update items that go out on a regular basis. With that in mind, CBB Vice President of Communications Lynn Heinze announced the upcoming launch of an improved online Beef Board “toolkit” that will accomplish just what the committee is asking for.
In a similar response to some responses in CBB meeting evaluations, the Administration Subcommittee (the subcommittee to the CBB Executive Committee) asked that the Beef Board staff replace the traditional CBB Summer Banquet with a non-meal “social” or reception that gives members an opportunity to gather and socialize but is not a formal dinner event. This will be a change just for the summer meeting, leaving the traditional banquet in place at the annual conventions. The ‘social’ will replace the dinner at the summer 2011 meeting in Orlando, then reevaluated.
CBB Nominating Committee
Posted by Diane – February 1st, 2011
Cattle producers and importers interested in filling elected positions — as chairman, vice chairman, secretary/treasurer, or a member of the Operating or CBB Executive Committee — have been interviewing with the CBB Nominating Committee, one candidate at a time, last night and most of the day today. CBB Operations Manager Charlotte Coates (pictured here) was seated outside the interview room throughout, signing folks in and out and making sure the committee members have what they need.
Serving on the Nominating Committee is a tough job, especially when there is a particularly strong list of candidates. 2011 CBB Nominating Committee Chairman Dave Fugate said that certainly is the case this year — with the slate of candidates coming in well prepared and passionate about the beef industry, in general, and the checkoff, in particular. That bodes well for both, because those seated as CBB officers and members of the two lead checkoff committees make a lot of decisions about checkoff investments and operations throughout the year.
The Nominating Comimttee’s recommendations for the elected positions will go before the full Beef Board for voting on Saturday morning at the Joint Board Meeting. During the CBB Update Session on Thursday afternoon, the recommended nominees will be given a few minutes to introduce themselves to all Board members.
