Producer Leaders Participate in Checkoff Planning Meetings

About three dozen beef producers who serve as chairs and vice-chairs of checkoff-funded committees met last week to help prioritize programs for checkoff funding in fiscal year 2004, which begins Oct. 1.  The committees are responsible for helping create the research, information and promotion efforts funded by the $1-per-head National Beef Checkoff.

The meetings provided a “mid-course” opportunity for adjusting checkoff program strategies developed by the committees, and delivering on efforts that will best help increase demand for beef, according to Andy Tucker, chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which oversees the checkoff.  Program priorities were first established at committee meetings at the 2003 Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville in late January.

Tucker, a beef producer from Rockledge, Fla., says the committee officers in this meeting had the opportunity to review industry outlook, issues, program budgets and program strategies.

“At this stage we needed to look at the programs and how to best spend checkoff dollars to address the demand-building issues that face us today,” says Tucker.  “Our committee leaders could identify and suggest course corrections based on what’s going on in the industry and society today.”

The committee priorities from January were based not only on personal input to members from their friends and neighbors, but on producer surveys conducted to determine what demand issues were most critical to those paying the checkoff. 

Among the overriding issues discussed by the leaders at last week’s meeting were food safety, nutrition and increasing value of the beef carcass through development of new products.  The leaders also had a chance to get an update from Randy Blach, executive director of Cattle-Fax, on the current market situation, including the cattle supply outlook and what’s in store for beef demand. 

Monte Reese, Beef Board chief operating officer, reported to the group that preliminary beef demand for the most recent quarter was up more than 2.4 percent, compared to the same period in 2002.  Beef demand has improved more than 3 percent since 2000 and nearly 10 percent since its low in 1988.

According to Bob Schmidt, a beef producer from Greenback, Tenn., and chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils Division of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), last week’s meeting was important on a number of levels.  It created a chance to review initial program plans and strategies, comparing them to current industry issues and trends.  But it also provided greater opportunity for leaders to coordinate their strategies with other committees, maximizing efficiencies and effectiveness of checkoff dollars.

“Because hundreds of producers are involved in making these decisions on many levels, it’s sometimes difficult to quickly react to what’s happening in our society or what’s going on in our industry,” says Schmidt.  “These leaders were able to recommend adjustments that would do that.”

Earlier in the week, executives of state beef councils met with national checkoff program staff to also review possible program strategies for next year.  State councils control half of the $1-per-head checkoff collected in their states, and not only conduct their own programs but help implement national programs at the state level.

By helping to bring together the two staff elements, greater efficiencies and coordination are generated for beef producers and the checkoff dollars, according to Schmidt.

“State beef councils are a critical component in the beef checkoff,” he says.  We rely on them to provide input on national programs and implementation on both state and national ones.”

Tucker says the meeting had a very strong grassroots purpose.  “Producers across the country have told us what their priorities are,” he says.  “These sessions help us maintain a better connection with producers and their priorities while making sure we have the most up-to-date information to address current trends and issues.”

The next step will be to present strategies and tactics back to committees at the Summer Meeting in Dallas, Tex., in July for their additional direction and approval.  Committee leadership will be involved in setting up agendas for these committee sessions.