Cattle and beef producers who want to tell checkoff leaders how they want their $1-per-head spent will have no better opportunity than at the 2006 Cattle Industry Convention and Trade Show in Denver Feb. 1-4.  Mark Thomas is the vice president of Global Marketing for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.  He says committee meetings in his area will be discussing some important issues.

Cut #1         :25          Outcue: "...very positive meeting"

According to Thomas, one checkoff-funded program will be wrestling with a critical issue.

Cut #2         :29          Outcue: "...to national TV."

Whatever the issue, Thomas believes it will be the producer input and decisions that will have the most crucial and long-lasting affect on how checkoff programs are conducted.

Cut #3         :41          Outcue: "...voice to be heard."

The Beef Checkoff Program is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The national Beef Checkoff Program is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The national Beef Checkoff Program is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, a group of 108 beef producers appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture.  They represent producers from coast-to-coast and volunteer their time to help identify programs that can help increase beef demand.  The checkoff was created in the 1985 Farm Bill, with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle and a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.