Fri., Aug 01 03 -- Questions Answered at Cattle Industry Summer Meeting

Suggested Lead:

Questions they receive about the beef checkoff were discussed among members of the Cattlemen’s Beef and Promotion Board last week at their summer meeting.  Held in conjunction with the 2003 Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Dallas, the meeting provided an opportunity for developing both the budget and program and work for fiscal year 2004, which begins Oct. 1.  According to Monte Reese, chief operating officer for the Beef Board, one of the questions involves packer involvement on the Board, and the easy answer is… there isn’t any. 

Cut #1    :22       Outcue: "...opportunities for cattlemen."

Reese says some of the confusion occurs because one of the contracting organizations, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, has a lobbying division that works with dues dollars in Washington, D.C.  But there’s an important distinction.   

Cut #2    :25       Outcue: "...and in magazines."

According to Reese, it needs to be noted that there is an arms-length relationship between NCBA and the Beef Board.

Cut #3    :22       Outcue: "...dollars very efficiently."

The $1-per-head beef checkoff is administered by the Beef Board, subject to USDA approval.  It is used solely for promotion, information and research programs that work to increase beef demand.