NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

WAS IT NAUGHTY OR NICE?

NCBA REMINDS THAT CHECKOFF BELONGS TO YOU

by National Cattlemen's Beef Association Chief Executive Officer Colin Woodall

In July of 2020, a petition was started by several individuals and groups like R-CALF to call for a referendum on the future of the Beef Checkoff. USDA initially gave the petitioners one year to collect signatures from 88,269 cattle producers who had paid into the Checkoff during the previous year. When their time was up in July 2021, they were woefully short on signatures. The petitioners then asked USDA for more time and cited COVID-19 restrictions as one of the reasons they did not have the opportunity to engage with as many producers as they would have liked. While we felt this was a disingenuous request given their use of an online petition portal, USDA nonetheless granted their request for an additional 60 days. Due to the 30 days it took USDA to make this decision, the petitioners actually got an additional 90 days to collect signatures. When time was finally up in October, there were not enough signatures to meet the threshold of having 10 percent of America’s cattle producers ask for a referendum.

NCBA decided early in this process to not fight the petition. We did this because the Checkoff belongs to you, and we believe that you and every other cattle producer should have the right to decide the future of this great program. We had hoped the petitioners would conduct the petition process with integrity, but we soon found that was not the case. They definitely make the naughty list because of the way they characterized the process and some of the tactics they used to collect signatures. A referendum is about killing the Checkoff, but the petitioners were telling producers that it was going to be a chance to make some changes to the program. That is absolutely not the way this works. A referendum simply asks if you support the continuation of the Checkoff. It does not allow for any changes to be considered. Therefore, we can only deduce that the petitioners aimed to kill the Checkoff because why would you waste Checkoff dollars to conduct a vote on a program you want to keep? That is right, your Checkoff dollars would have been used to conduct the vote, and USDA told us it could easily be hundreds of thousands of dollars to do this. That is hundreds of thousands of dollars that would not go towards beef research or promotion. I had conversations with a few producers who signed the petition that told me they would not have done so had they really known what the referendum was going to do.

We are also aware of many unsavory tactics used to collect signatures. There was one effort that put the names of those who signed the petition into a pot for a drawing to receive a cash prize. We heard of a similar process to draw for a pair of boots. We even heard of somebody at a gas station asking whoever walked by to sign the petition. Reports of other actions came to us throughout the year as our members saw the petition process in action. Even with desperate tactics, the effort did not produce the signatures needed.

I see the lack of signatures as a de facto referendum on the Beef Checkoff. It was no secret in the countryside that this petition was collecting signatures. Petitioners were at fairs, trade shows, rodeos and other gatherings of cattle producers. They had the presence and tools to get the 88,269 signatures, but ultimately did not because of the great programs delivered by the Checkoff. The nice list is chock-full of Checkoff-funded projects and programs being delivered by State Beef Councils, the Federation of State Beef Councils and NCBA as one of nine contractors to the national Beef Checkoff. We are making the most of your Checkoff investment. If you have watched any holiday movies on the Hallmark Channel recently, you have seen Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. commercials. Throughout the fall, Checkoff-funded commercials aired during college football games on television and on Sirius XM radio. Our year-long Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. sustainability campaign delivered our cattle health and environmental stewardship message to tens of millions of consumers. We are also taking full advantage of online e-commerce advertising. Our e-commerce summer grilling campaign with Kroger stores delivered awesome results by selling an additional $60 of beef for every Checkoff dollar we used to advertise. That is what you expect from your Checkoff, and that is why the petition process came up short.

Upcoming CatTle industry in Houston, Texas, convention expected to be largest ever

The 2022 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show is expected to be the largest ever, bringing thousands of cattlemen and women from across the country together for education, entertainment and engagement. The event, taking place Feb. 1-3, will be held in Houston for the first time.

“Everything is bigger in Texas,” and that holds true for the 2022 Convention. There will be five general sessions packed with timely industry updates, inspirational speakers and important information that every producer can use. And the NCBA Trade Show will be the largest ever encompassing nearly 10 acres of exhibitors, displays and educational opportunities all under one roof.

“We are excited to have convention in Houston for the first time,” said Kristin Torres, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association executive director of meetings and events. “The city’s world-class facilities are helping make this the biggest convention yet.”

For those arriving early, the convention will be preceded by the 29th annual Cattlemen’s College, which is famous for stimulating and thought-provoking sessions. This event will begin Monday, Jan. 31, with afternoon sessions and live animal demonstrations, followed by an evening reception. It will continue on Tuesday with 15 educational sessions offered in the morning and conclude with a keynote presentation and lunch.

The 2022 Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame inductees and award-winners will be honored during a reception and banquet Monday evening, celebrating the visionary men and women who have made lasting contributions to the cattle-feeding industry.

The convention will officially kick off on Tuesday, Feb. 1, with Buzz Brainard, host of Music Row Happy Hour, who will be back by popular demand as emcee during the general sessions. Brainard’s voice is well known on SiriusXM radio, Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel.

The Opening General Session on Tuesday will pack a punch with legendary boxer and famous griller George Foreman. Foreman grew up in Houston and went on to become an Olympic gold champion, heavyweight division boxing world champion, entrepreneur and well-known pitchman for the grill that bears his name.

Wednesday’s two general sessions will focus on today’s issues and tomorrow’s outlook. NCBA’s Washington, D.C. policy team will give a state of the industry overview and provide updates on taxes, cattle markets, conservation, animal health, trade, infrastructure and much more.

CattleFax’s outlook seminar will highlight demand and supplies for beef, cattle and competing proteins. They will present a price and profitability outlook for 2022 and beyond for all classes of cattle and beef, explore export and import markets, and provide a grain outlook. Meteorologist Matt Makens will also give a 2022 weather forecast highlighting weather pattern changes for the United States and around the world.

Attendees will then “Rocket to the Rustic” for an evening of live music, local food and a lot of fun. Wellknown in Houston, The Rustic combines great food, the best drinks and a lively backyard atmosphere for patrons to create remarkable memories.

Thursday morning will feature a discussion on policy and diplomacy during a session entitled “Beef: Here and There, Domestic and Abroad” and the Closing General Session will celebrate the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Program and BQA award winners.

Convention then wraps up Thursday evening with the Cowboy Comedy Club featuring headliner Jim Gaffigan. Gaffigan is a Grammy nominated comedian, actor, writer, producer, best-selling author, Emmy-winning performer, and multi-platinum-selling recording artist. He is known around the world for his unique brand of humor, which largely revolves around his observations on life.

In addition to experiencing a wide variety of education and entertainment opportunities, producers will be hard at work guiding both Beef Checkoff and NCBA policy programs. Annual meetings of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, American National CattleWomen, CattleFax and National Cattlemen’s Foundation will also take place.

A variety of registration options are available including the popular family pack, which offers a $100 discount on the purchase of two full registrations combined with two student registrations. For more information and to register and reserve housing, visit https://convention.ncba.org/.

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