Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is visiting with Greg Hanes, the CEO of the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion Board, about the review of the current fiscal year by the beef board members and the new fiscal year, which starts the first of October.
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“We are about three-quarters of the way through our current fiscal year, so projects are coming along and wrapping up,” Hanes said.
During the Summer Business Meeting, Hanes said beef board members had the chance to meet and talk about what the next fiscal year will look like.
“This is really the chance for a lot of that producer feedback and into it,” Hanes said.
In several different meetings, the nine different contractors of the checkoff had the chance to talk about what they have done during the current year, Hanes said, and the feedback was well received. Hanes said much of this work includes education, promotion, and research.
“This is why this meeting is so important because all of these contractors are coming up with their new ideas and putting them out there and getting that feedback from producers,” Hanes said. “This is their time, and it is also the time for the producers to ask questions and kind of grill the contractors…”
After producer input, Hanes said contractors are able to think about how their projects align with producer expectations. These projects must be reviewed and approved by several committees, Hanes added, before they can be put into action.
“This is going to be a very challenging one because collections are down just with the reduction in the herd side, so we are looking at really a gap of at least right now of about 13 million dollars of funds that we have available versus requests for funds,” Hanes said. “That will probably drop down a little bit by the time we get to September, but still, a 12-million-dollar gap is a very big gap. The operating committee is really going to have to be thorough.”
Hanes also talked about ways the Beef Checkoff is held accountable through audits, third-party evaluations, and more. Being held accountable, Hanes said, ensures that producer dollars are being used correctly and that the programs are effective.
“There is really a lot to make sure there is transparency with the programs…,” Hanes said.
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