BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS

Beef industry media:

What follows is the executive summary of the final report from the Blue Ribbon Commission.  The Commission’s recommendations cover a number of key areas in NCBA, including membership, governance, representation, our partnership with state organizations, plus ways to strengthen commitment to the producer.

Action will be taken on these recommendations during the Annual Convention in Phoenix, January 26-29, 2000. In the meantime, they are being distributed to the industry for review and discussion.  A full report of the recommendations is online (Word Document. Select "cancel" if asked for username/password information).  Also, you can obtain a copy by contacting Kathy Becker (kbecker@beef.org).

As we announced yesterday, Dave True, BRC chairman, and I will be hosting a conference call for media tomorrow, Wednesday, November 17, 8:00 a.m., Mountain Standard Time.  We’ll discuss the recommendations, but mostly be available to answer your questions. To access that teleconference, call 1-800-301-6894, and ask for the NCBA call, Lynn Heinze host.

George Swan

NCBA President

Executive Summary

Desired Outcomes | Recommendations Summary | Commission Overview

November 1999 

Desired Outcomes

The Blue Ribbon Commission respectfully submits this set of recommendations to the industry for their consideration with the expectation that – if adopted and implemented – the industry can expect these outcomes. A number of recommendations relate to specific changes in governance, representation or membership.  Others concern general operating procedures, and effective implementation of them is also critical to achieving the outcomes below.

• Stronger producer influence in the national organization

• A stronger state-national partnership

• More responsibility and authority in the hands of affiliates, beef councils and producers

• Governance that works better

• Improved non-producer involvement

• Greater coordination at the national level

• A simpler and better understood organization

Recommendations Summary

Desired Outcomes with Supporting Recommendations

1.      Stronger producer influence in the national organization

• Only producers vote on the Policy Division Board

• In addition, only producers vote on policy in industry segment councils and the Membership Meeting of Stakeholders Congress

• Producers through the Industry Segment Councils may submit resolutions to the Board, if not satisfied with the committee outcome

• Annually, producer members prioritize top five issues through their state affiliate

2.      A stronger state-national partnership

• Strengthen the partnership with beef councils through national leadership involvement and improved service, communication & responsiveness

• Move toward a state-national partnership with affiliates where state organizations are the conduit for membership and ideas to national 

• Greater emphasis on services for affiliates and members with built-in incentives/benefits for affiliates

• Reduce competition with affiliates for membership and strengthen communication/publications coordination

• Strengthen NCBA’s role as technology leader for beef councils and affiliates

• Enhanced services for state organizations will be developed jointly by NCBA and those organizations

3.   More responsibility and authority in the hands of affiliates, beef councils and producers

• Regions elect Regional Vice Presidents for both divisions that also serve on the Executive Committee

• Regions elect the Nominating Committee

• More local empowerment and less emphasis on a national nominating committee because of regional elections

4.  Governance that works better

• Streamlined, better functioning Board of Directors – 361 to 238 voting directors (estimate)

• Smaller Executive Committee that is better connected to the country – 32 to 24 voting members

• Reduced officer corps that capitalizes on Regional Vice Presidents to lessen the load – 7 to 3 officers

• Smaller policy, nominating and resolutions committees

• Improved operating procedures for policy and program committees, with special emphasis on improving joint checkoff-policy committees

• Modest increase in use of proxy voting to enhance efficiency and flexibility

• Term limitations for Nominating Committee (3 years), plus committee and Industry Segment Council leadership (2 years)

• Improved meeting scheduling for Annual Convention & Summer Conference and action-oriented agendas for Board and committee meetings

5.   Improved non-producer involvement

• Establish a Product Council for packers, processors & marketers of beef and improve the Allied Industry Council

• Representation on committees and ex officio, non voting representation on the Executive Committee (2 seats)

6.      Greater coordination at the national level

• NCBA and USMEF – develop and implement a global strategy for beef

• Planning, Budget and Operating committees – increased coordination to maximize industry dollars

7.      A simpler and better understood organization

• Simplified and streamlined governance at the Board, Executive Committee and committee levels

• Option of regional fieldmen to enhance understanding and two-way communication with producers

• New division names that describe their purpose in simple terms – Policy and Promotion

Commission Overview

1.    Purpose: The NCBA Board approved and President George Swan appointed the Blue Ribbon Commission to create a stronger NCBA for today and tomorrow by establishing recommendations for:

• Commitment to the producer

• State-national partnership and membership

• Governance and representation

2.    Process:

• Preparation (December-January)

• Announcement and approval by the Board (February)

• Industry input and fact finding (February-March)

• Identifying key issues (March)

• Developing preliminary recommendations (April-June)

• Industry input on preliminary recommendations (July-September)

• Finalizing recommendations (September-October)

• Action on final recommendations (Annual Convention)

3.    Commission members:

Dave True, chair	Dee Lacey
Wythe Willey, vice chair	Jay O’Brien
J.D. Alexander	Jim Schaben
Coney Burgess	Bob Schmidt
Lynn Cornwell	Ken Stielow
Steve Foglesong	Bert Tucker
John Hays	Pat Adrian, ex officio
Steve Henshaw	John Braly, ex officio

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Initiated in 1898, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry. NCBA is producer-directed but consumer-focused, with offices in Denver, Chicago and Washington D.C.