Wisconsin beef leaders helped set the course of the industry by lending their voices to Beef Checkoff programs and initiatives at the 2021 Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville this month.
Typically, the cattle industry comes together twice a year to discuss current issues and work on strategies for the betterment of the beef cattle industry and to drive demand for beef.
Wisconsin was represented by its four members on the Cattlemen’s Beef Board: Daphne Holterman, Watertown; Bob Mitchell, Wauzeka; Terry Quam, Lodi; Steve Springer, Linden. Eric Johnson of Dane also attended and joined committee meetings as a Federation of State Beef Councils member, and Tammy Vaassen acted as an ex-officio committee member as the executive director of the Wisconsin Beef Council.
“There are all sorts of things that happen behind the scenes when it comes to exports and working with companies, people, and organizations to move beef,” Holterman says. “They just completed a five-year Long Range Plan for beef, which I think is excellent. It is basically growing demand for U.S. beef around the world and growing consumer trust in beef.”
The focus for the Beef Checkoff committees at this meeting is to prioritize projects from national contractors. There are five national Beef Checkoff Committees: Consumer Trust; Domestic Marketing; International Marketing; Nutrition and Health, Safety; and Product Information and Stakeholder Engagement. Each committee heard from several contractors,
including the U.S. Meat Export Federation, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, and North American Meat Institute.
“We are looking at projects in my consumer trust committee with sustainable research, beef advocacy training, and support for the Beef Quality Assurance program,” Holterman explains. “We are looking at ways to market veal and support the Veal Quality Assurance.”
The Beef Promotion Operating Committee will meet in September to set the checkoff budget for the fiscal year 2022.
