Schedule of Upcoming Beef Board Meetings

Just a quick rundown of upcoming meetings of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, Beef Board Executive Committee and Beef Promotion Operating Committee meetings and locations to watch for:

• July 25-28, 2012 — 2012 Cattle Industry Summer Conference, Denver (full Beef Board meets)
• July 25, 2012 – CBB Executive Committee meeting, Denver
• Sept. 19-20, 2012 – Beef Promotion Operating Committee meeting, Denver
• Sept. 20, 2012 – CBB Executive Committee meeting, Denver
• Feb. 6-9, 2013 — 2013 Cattle Industry Convention, Tampa, Fla. (full Beef Board meets)

Welcome New CBB Members!

Newly appointed members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board — seated on Feb. 4 — are in Denver this week for an intense orientation about the their roles and responsibilities on the Beef Board and about the efforts of the Beef Checkoff Program.

On Thursday, the new members took in a tremendous amount of information, complete with quizzes by segment. This morning, they will be learning more about the resources available to them in their role to share checkoff information with their fellow producers and importers.

New members in attendance include Tom Alger of Texas; Pat Becker of North Dakota; Andrew Burtt, an importer; Sarah Childs of Florida; Kim Holzner, an importer; Chris Hutton, an importer; Barbara Jacques of Oklahoma; Paul Looney of Texas; Stacy McClintock of Kansas; Linda Nielsen of Montana; Perry Owens of Kansas; Lyle Peterson of Montana; Gary Sharp of South Dakota; Leo Sutterfield, Jr. of Arkansas; Doug Temme of Nebraska; Sherry Vinton of Nebraska; Richard Winter of Texas; and Anne Wirtz of Texas (who has been on Board a year but was unable to attend orientation last year). Other new members not in attendance include Stephen Edwards, an importer; Leon Kreisler of Missouri; Sugie Sartwelle of Texas; and Terry Wyatt of Oklahoma.

Executive Committee In Session

The Beef Board Executive Committee’s regular March meeting is under way in Denver this morning, representing the first meeting of the committee members elected at the Beef Board meeting in Nashville last month. That includes Anne Anderson; Dean Black; Kim Brackett; Laurie Bryant; Will Frazee; Linda Gilbert; Wesley Grau; Brian Healey; Hank Maxey; Eric Smith and Weldon Wynn.

Chaired by CBB Vice Chairman Weldon Wynn (pictured, with Beef Board CEO Polly Ruhland), the committee has a number of things on its agenda today, including discussions about requirements for disclosure of anyconflicts of interest, ways to reduce Board costs amid tight checkoff budgets, a financial report from Secretary/Treasurer Kim Brackett, consideration of brand and trade-name references in specific checkoff programs, and proposed CBB policies that are in development.

Following the Executive Committee meeting is a day-long orientation of newly appointed Beef Board members, also in Denver.

Orientation of Checkoff Leaders

Beef Board members of the Operating and Executive committees have entered their second day of orientation discussions in Denver this morning, getting grounded in their understanding of checkoff administration and their roles in it.

Led by Beef Board and Operating Committee Chairman Wesley Grau (pictured), 18 Beef Board members are taking in loads of information about the rules, regulations and procedures marking their positions as 2012 leaders of the national Beef Checkoff Program.

On the agenda for the two-day meeting is everything from leadership fiduciary responsibilities, coordination with state beef councils, CBB staff responsibilities, USDA expectations and the budgeting process to discussions about planning and evaluation of checkoff programs, producer communications, checkoff Authorization Request management, state beef council reviews, collections compliance, officer roles, and the Beef Act and Beef Order.

Committee members are even taking informal quizzes as the orientation goes along to make sure they are understanding key requirements of their volunteer roles. Leadership orientation wraps up later this morning, at which time the Executive Committee then holds its regular March meeting, followed by an orientation of newly appointed Beef Board members that kicks off at 1 p.m. today and runs through midday tomorrow (Friday).

Consumers in the Driver’s Seat

Food and eating trends and fads – like convenience, flavor, price, color and nutrition – keep consumers in the driver’s seat when it comes to challenges for the beef producers in maintaining strong demand for their end product. But at the heart of that is really consumer perceptions of those fads and food characteristics — both here and abroad.

That was the message of the extensive industry assessment presented to members of the Operating Committee today. Presenters included checkoff program staff from NCBA and the U.S. Meat Export Federation, as well as representatives from the retail (Safeway) and foodservice (Wendy’s) industries, and from Cattle-Fax economist Kevin Good.

The upshot  is that the beef industry has some great opportunities for long-term growth, as long as it is responsive to consumers’ changing demands and preferences — and to consumers’ perceptions about beef and beef products. But the challenges are tremendous, and those will be at the heart of ongoing checkoff planning for Fiscal Year 2013, for which Operating Committee members will review specific proposals in September 2012.

March (Meeting) Madness Under Way

New members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and producers serving in other leadership positions for the Beef Board and Federation of State Beef Councils just kicked off a busy week in Denver, beginning with today’s meeting of the Beef Promotion Operating Committee.

After introductions, CBB Secretary/Treasurer Kim Brackett, a cattlewoman from Idaho, (pictured) started things off with a report of Beef Board financials. Moving forward, the committee received a report from Beef Board CEO Polly Ruhland about evaluation of checkoff programs and now are beginning a two-hour webinar about an extensive beef-industry assessment that is critical to identifying checkoff strategies for Fiscal 2013.

In addition to the Operating Committee meeting today, on the agenda for the week is an orientation session for the Operating Committee — which includes 10 members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and 10 members of the Federation of State Beef Councils — whereby the newest members of the committee get an education about their roles as elected members of the committee.

A second orientation sesssion, on Wednesday afternoon, will address general leadership duties and responsibilities for Beef Board members elected to the CBB Executive Committee and the Operating Committee, including officers of the Board.  On Thursday, the CBB Executive Committee holds its regular March meeting, which will be followed by a detailed orientation session for new members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

It’s going to be a busy week, with lots of information to retain for those folks who volunteer their time and efforts away from their farms and ranches to help direct your national Beef Checkoff Program. Stay tuned for more as the week goes on!

New Beef Board Officer Team

The Cattlemen’s Beef Board elected its officer slate for 2012 at this morning’s Joint Board Meeting. Congratulations to 2012 Chairman Wesley Grau of New Mexico; Vice Chairman Weldon Wynn of Arkansas; and Secretary/Treasurer Kim Brackett of Idaho!

Time to Roll Up Our Sleeves

Dear Fellow Beef Producers and Importers,

I am looking forward to the 2012 Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Nashville Feb. 1-4. I hope to see many of you there and look foward to working with you to help continue creating opportunities for a bright future for our industry. I don’t think that anyone would argue with the fact that we’ve had a rather difficult year, but this convention marks tremendous opportunity for us to come together and plan for smoother times ahead. 

The good news is that our Beef Checkoff Program has remained on track throughout the industry challenges of the last year or so, and we’ve seen some terrific results for all of us who invest our hard-earned dollars into the program. Our promotion, research, education and information programs are doing as intended, keeping beef center-of-plate with consumers worldwide.

As we gather in Nashville, those of you who volunteer your service on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the Federation of State Beef Councils will meet jointly in checkoff committees to learn about ongoing program results for the current year, and will begin setting priorities for next year. As most of you are aware, we already know to expect tight checkoff budgets for at least the next several years, so it will be critical to focus on the most important priorities for our checkoff investments.

As individual producers and checkoff committee members, each of us must be prepared both to discuss the issues and – maybe most important – to listen and be open to others’ ideas, even if they are different from ours. As Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

With that in mind, I suggest that we all dig deep for our courage, keeping in mind that our fellow cattle producers and importers across the country have entrusted us with their checkoff investments, and we owe them our best. And while we may be volunteers in terms of our service on checkoff boards and committees, the work we do at our convention is directly tied to the success of our personal operations, our industry – and our very ability to keep our heritage alive for our children and our grandchildren. We owe them our best, too. 

So we have a lot of work to do, but we have tremendous opportunity, too. Let’s make our fellow producers – and the future generations who are counting on us – proud of what we are building for them. I’ll look forward to working with those of you in attendance toward that goal. 

And if you can’t be on site for the convention, stay tuned right here to this MyBeefCheckoff Meeting Blog to get updates on the goings-on at the convention and to add your own comments and questions wherever you see fit.

Sincerely, 

Wesley Grau
Chairman
Cattlemen’s Beef Board

CBB Secretary/Treasurer Previews Convention

Cattlemen’s Beef Board Secretary/Treasurer Roger West of Florida previews topics up for discussion by the Beef Board at the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention. That, he said, includes important discussions about proposed changes to the CBB Bylaws, including sections addressing the Nominating Committee and term limits for elected committee position.

Listen to Roger’s comments t Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman at Roger West.

No Cost to Attend Checkoff Meetings

All beef checkoff meetings are open to every person who pays the checkoff.

During the upcoming 2012 Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 1-4, these meetings include meetings of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday); Federation of State Beef Councils (Thursday) and joint committee meetings (Friday).

Registration closed in December, so if you would like attend checkoff meetings only, at no cost, you will need to go to the convention registration desk when you arrive in Nashville and let them know that you need a no-charge nametag to attend checkoff-only meetings. To learn more about other meetings and activities, click here.

If you can’t attend the convention in Nashville, Feb. 1-4, or other checkoff meetings, get the latest updates here on the MyBeefCheckoff Meeting blog throughout the meeting and afterward.

Contact dhenderson@beefboard.org  if you have any questions, or post them below.

State Beef Councils Talk Checkoff Compliance

Every time a bovine animal is sold, the $1-per-head beef checkoff is due. That includes sales of a single animal to a neighbor, or even freezer beef. Compliance with payment of that assessment is monitored through audits of collecting points, advertised sales, and various other collection techniques, and state beef councils responsible for collecting that dollar are meeting today to talk about how to improve that system.

Thirty staff members for state beef councils across the country are gathered in Denver this morning to work with each other and Beef Board staff to share and come up with ideas for reducing non-compliance. And the ideas are already flowing.

Producer communications will be part of the picture, as well, as the Joint Producer Communications Committee has asked for more emphasis on “compliance messages” in the national producer communications program in Fiscal Year 2012.

The message is this: Buyer and seller are responsible for seeing that the checkoff assessment is paid on every sale. If it’s not paid now and identified later in an audit or other compliance effort, stiff penalties can be attached, on top of full back payment. Need a refresher on the rules? Go to Who Pays the Checkoff?

Committee Approves Checkoff Plan of Work

The Cattlemen’s Beef Board will invest about $39.8 million, from a total budget of about $42.1 million, into programs of beef promotion, research, consumer information,  industry information, foreign marketing and producer communications in Fiscal Year 2012, if the recommendation of the Beef Promotion Operating Committee is approved by USDA, following review by the full Beef Board.

In action concluding its two-day meeting in Denver, the Operating Committee — including 10 members of the Beef Board and 10 members of the Federation of State Beef Councils — approved checkoff funding for a total of 39 “Authorization Requests,” or proposals for checkoff funding in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2011. The committee also will request full Board approval of a budget amendment to reflect the recategorization of the FY2012 budget in accordance with the programs approved. 

National organizations that had proposals approved by the Operating Committee (and the number of proposals and dollar amounts approved) are as follows: National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (19 programs totaling $30.2 million); U.S. Meat Export Federation (13 programs totaling $6.38 million); Cattlemen’s Beef Board (one program totaling $1.8 million); American National CattleWomen (two programs totaling $483,360); Meat Importers Council of America (three programs totaling $475,000); and the National Livestock Producers Association (one program at $35,000).

Based on the grim outlook for checkoff collections in the next few years (see post below), the Operating Committee voted to leave about $1.2 million “unallocated” to lessen the extent of the blow looking forward to Fiscal Year 2013 and beyond.

Broken out by budget component, the Fiscal Year 2012 Plan of Work for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board budget includes:

• $17.8 million for promotion programs
• $5.8 million for research programs
• $4.4 million for consumer information programs
• $3.1 million for industry information programs
• $6.4 million for foreign marketing programs
• $1.8 million for producer communications

Other categories funded through the 2012 CBB budget include $225,000 for evaluation, $180,000 for program development, $250,000 for USDA oversight; and about $2 million for administration, which includes costs for Board meetings, legal fees, travel costs, office rental, supplies, equipment, and administrative staff compensation. Fiscal Year 2012 begins Oct. 1, 2011.

Tough Times Ahead

“You can’t keep buying yourself out of a drought.”

That sentiment was voiced by Texas cattlewoman and Operating Committee member Linda Joy Stovall and other producers, as this morning’s portion of the Beef Promotion Operating Committee meeting kicked off with discussion of the tremendous impact that drought is having on the beef industry, particularly in Texas and Oklahoma.

Speaking of the “upshot,” Beef Board and Operating Committee member Chuck Kiker, noted: “I think consumers are going to get a whole new appreciation of the food industry in the next 10 or 12 years, because they’ll see the effect in increase in food prices.”

Beef Board member Dan Dierschke, who ranches near Austin, Texas, in the heart of the worst drought on record, echoed those sentiments, noting that cattlemen in the area are giving up on their generations-long businesses in large numbers. It’s clearly a very sad situation.

Discussion of this issue amounted to Operating Committee members reminding themselves of the outlook for the checkoff budget down the road, and the associated importance of planning ahead for even tougher times for the checkoff, in particular, and the beef industry, in general.

The committee is now voting on Authorization Requests for checkoff funding in Fiscal Year 2012, so we’ll get you details about the plan of work for the coming year here shortly.

Talking Beef With Consumers

In the home stretch of Authorization Request presentations this afternoon, NCBA presented proposals for checkoff funding of Promotion and Consumer Information programs in Fiscal Year 2012.

In presenting a $789,811 “Nutrition Influencer Program” proposal from NCBA, nutrition information program director Julie Sodano (pictured, presenting, right) talked about the important role that the checkoff plays in distributing information about the nutritional qualities of beef to today’s consumers. Having the research in hand from checkoff-funded research programs (see below) is a start, but getting that information to consumers is critical for it to be effective.

Along the same lines, the public relations AR, supported through the Consumer Informaiton budget component, along with the nutrition influencer program, gets the good word about beef out to consumers nationwide through national press releases, magazines, desk-side visits, and the like. View the Nutrition Influencer and Public Relations proposals, and visit Consumer Information Implementation to see the proposed costs associated with managing these two programs by NCBA.

In the area of Promotion, NCBA is presenting proposals today for Consumer Advertising, New Product and Culinary Initiatives, Retail Marketing, Foodservice Marketing, and Veal Marketing and Communications. For the costs associated with implementing those promotion programs, visit Promotion Implementation.

Research at Base of Checkoff Program

Consumer insights about beef and the beef ‘eating experience’ provide critical links to all other checkoff program efforts to build consumer demand for beef. After all, if the beef industry isn’t constantly adapting to meet consumers’ changing needs, then demand will nosedive. That’s the basic tenet for checkoff investment in consumer market research, via an Authorization Requested presented by market research director John Lundeen to the Operating Committee this afternoon.

Market research director John Lundeen presented the associated $1.35 million market research “Authorization Request” for checkoff funding in Fiscal Year 2012. Tactics/research topics included in the proposal include foundational product research; channels of distribution; new product development; enhancing the beef experience; tracking through the Consumer Beef Index; beef industry image; consumer barriers to eating beef; highlighing safety successes and perceptions; and eating personality validation. For details on the proposal, up for vote by the Operating Committee tomorrow morning, visit Market Research 2012.

Also in the research arena, NCBA is presenting Authorization Requests in the amount of $940,000 for beef safety research; product enhancement research; and human nutrition research. NCBA’s “implementation” AR (covering the costs associated with managing these research programs) is available at Research Implementation.

NCBA Presents Industry Information Proposals

After a hearty beef lunch, Operating Committee members are back at it this afternoon, and have begun listening to presentations from NCBA staff of Authorization Requests in the areas of promotion, research, consumer information and industry information.

Ryan Ruppert is kicking things off with a presentation of Beef Quality Assurance Programs proposed for checkoff funding in Fiscal Year 2012. Among highlighted new or improved tactics in the plan of work for the coming year are BQA training sessions for livestock marketing representatives, aimed at getting buy-in from all segments of the industry to include responsible practices from farm to slaughter, thus resulting in higher-quality beef and strong consumer confidence in beef and beef products. In addition, the BQA staff intends to increase its coordinated advertising efforts with producer communications staff by more than 25 percent. 

All told, the BQA program proposals seeks $800,000 in checkoff funding for FY12. Among elements in the program, funded through the Beef Board’s Industry Information budget component, are tactics to increase producer use of BQA; a national residue avoidance campaign; development and refinement of BQA management protocols; and an industry education campaign to avoid animal abuse and neglect. Next on the Operating Committee agenda today is presentation of “issues and reputation management” proposals, also funded through the Industry Information component. The “implementation AR” submitted for these Industry Information programs by NCBA is available at II Implementation.

Producer Communications & More

CBB Vice President of Communications Lynn Heinze (pictured) has completed his presentation and question-and-answer session with the Operating Committee, mapping out a FY2012 Plan of Work for producer communications funded through your national Beef Checkoff Program.

The main change in the producer communications plan for the coming year, compared to that occurring in FY2011 is an increased emphasis on regional advertising, including print, radio and online, to increase checkoff messages in areas that surveys indicate are home with producers who have less understanding of how the checkoff operates on their behalf, Heinze said. That will include regional programs in the Southeast, Northeast, Northwest, and Texas, primarily.

Another change, as prescribed by a recommendation from the Joint Producer Communications Committee, includes increase focus on messages about checkoff compliance, helping producers understand that the reason the checkoff is successful is because all producers and importers must pay the $1-per-head or equivalent assessment. That, said Heinze, is based on a request from state beef councils, and from research that indicates there are still some 15 percent of producer who say they’ve never heard of the checkoff.

Following the producer communications presentation, Sherry Hill of the American National Cattlewomen, presented a plan of promotion for the National Beef Cook-Off, and Sarah Bohnenkamp, also of ANCW, now is presenting a proposal for a “Telling the Beef Story” program, including the National Beef Ambassador Program.

Coming up next are presentations from the National Livestock Producers Association for checkoff assistance in funding a national forum about animal antibiotics, and proposals from the Meat Importers Council of America for another year of the Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative, which comprises foodservice and retail promotions, as well as consumer public relations regarding beef in the heavily populated Northeast corridor of the country.

(All above proposals include implementation costs, or the cost of managing the programs, within the amount requested.)

Foreign Marketing Kicks Off Funding Meeting

The Beef Promotion Operating Committee meeting is under way in Denver this morning. As every September, when proposals for checkoff funding of programs in the coming fiscal year, this promises to be heavy on information, with a day and a half schedueld for review of a total of 58 proposals.

Today, members of the Operating Committee — 10 members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and 10 members of the Federation of State Beef Councils — will hear presentations on 38 “Athorization Requests,” (ARs) or proposals for checkoff funding, in the areas of promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing and producer communications. Another 20 “Attachment A’s” map out “next-priority” proposals in the case that additional checkoff funding is available after the committee recommends the main ARs it believes should be funded. 

No voting on the ARs will take place today — that happens tomorrow.

The total amount requested in checkoff funding for Fiscal Year 2012 is $42.2 million, compared to an available budget of $40.6 million, so not everything presented can be funded. Fiscal Year 2012 begins Oct. 1, 2011.

National beef organizations presenting proposals, and the number of proposals and dollar amount requested, are as follows:

• National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, 35 proposals for $30.41 million
• U.S. Meat Export Federation, 15 proposals for $6.75 million
• American National Cattlewomen, two proposals for $1.72 million
• Cattlemen’s Beef Board, one proposal (producer communications), for $1.8 million
• Meat Importers Council of America, four proposals for $515,000
• National Livestock Producers Association, one proposal for $35,000

First up on the presentation block today is foreign marketing, and USMEF’s Greg Hanes is currently talking to the Operating Committee about how that organization wants to manage the checkoff’s international marketing efforts in the coming year. (For the individual foreign-marketing proposals, by country, visit Countries and scroll down to the “Foreign Marketing” section.) For proposed implementation costs, or the checkoff costs associated with managing these programs, is available at Foreign Marketing Implementation.

Stay tuned….

Committee Reviews Checkoff Proposals for FY2012

With the end of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board’s fiscal year around the corner, the Beef Promotion Operating Committee will meet in Denver Sept. 19-20 to consider nearly 40 “Authorization Requests,” or proposals for checkoff funding in FY2012, which begins Oct. 1, 2011.

The Operating Committee comprises 10 members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and 10 reprsentatives of the Federation of State Beef Councils, and is charged with making final recommendations about what national checkoff programs to fund with the Cattlemen’s Beef Board budget.

Given ongoing budget constraints, the committee continues to contend with tough decisions about what programs use producers’ checkoff investments most effectively and efficiently to build consumer demand for beef.

For a copy of the agenda for the September meeting, or to view any of the Authorization Requests that will be considered, click on “Committees” on the upper left side of this page, and then on “Beef Promotion Operating Committee” — or go straight to the page through THIS LINK.

Opportunities Abound At Summer Conference

Dear Fellow Beef Producers, 

As we come together at the 2011 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in less than two week to continue planning our national beef checkoff investments for the coming year, we are riding through a particularly tough year.

I’m sure most everyone is aware that we have been experiencing some differences of opinion within our industry about the structure of the checkoff, accompanied by plenty of press. On that note, we have a choice: We can let the emotions of the day pave their own route – or we can come together and do the right thing: Keep our grip on the goals of this program and lead with our heads to develop the checkoff programs for Fiscal Year 2012 that will give us the best return on our $1-per-head checkoff assessments. I think we owe the latter to all of the folks out in the country who invest their hard-earned dollars into this program. 

As acting chairman of the Beef Board, I have been proud to watch so many of my fellow producers volunteer their time and efforts to the overarching goal of our checkoff program – to build demand for our end product. In your volunteer efforts for the checkoff, you’re talking to your neighbors and communities about our checkoff, and about our industry. You’re teaching consumers about the care that producers take in raising beef for our own families, for theirs, and for a hungry world. You’re participating both in your checkoff and in your own personal efforts on behalf of this industry.

So, our checkoff is, indeed, alive and well, and the Cattlemen’s Beef Board remains intent on using your money wisely to fund beef promotion, research, information and education programs that respond to the needs of today’s busy lifestyles and consumer demands for safe and healthy products.

No doubt, we have some decisions to make during this summer conference, but let’s make ourselves, our families, and our industry proud by taking the high road as we debate our differences of opinion. Let’s stick to the truth and lead with cool heads.

Sincerely,

Wesley Grau
Acting Chairman, Cattlemen’s Beef Board
Grady, NM