Cattle Summer Meetings Underway This Week

The cattle industry will hold its 2016 Summer Business Meeting in Denver this week, working to establish direction for both policy and checkoff related programs for the coming year.  Jerry Effertz, is the vice chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils.  He said he is pleased to be able to represent beef checkoff payers, locally, nationally and all points in between.

"I think it’s important for all cattle people, beef producers all over the country to be involved.  I am extraordinarily pleased to be a cattle producer in North Dakota but I can tell you I’m even more pleased now that I have the opportunity to represent all beef producers.”

When it comes to checkoff-funded programs, Effertz said each of the research, promotion and education areas involved with increasing demand for beef are important.  He does, however, believe that all checkoff programs do have a single foundation.

“Personally, I am a huge advocate of research.  I think the research that is being done has added greatly to the profitability of the cattle industry, and we have to constantly be dealing with that.  You know, in research, you’re never really done.”

Members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which administers the Beef Checkoff Program, as well as directors of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Program, will hold sessions during the Summer Business Meeting.   Joint Federation and Beef Board committee meetings, which include both state and national leadership, will also be held.  Projects conducted by the beef checkoff must be approved by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the USDA.

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