Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with Chairman of the Cattleman’s Beef Promotion Board Andy Bishop about why he wants to serve on the Beef Board and as a chairman.
In 2007, Bishop moved back to Kentucky, the state he was raised in, and immediately got involved in the Kentucky Cattleman’s Association through a close friend. “I fell in love with the camaraderie and the friendships that I saw at my first Cattleman’s Convention, and that passion got fueled more by the Checkoff work that was going on,” Bishop said. “That got me started as the Beef Council Chair. I served in that role in Kentucky for three years. I got to get out and meet with consumers, but also more producers and kind of bridged the gap, there. I’ve been really passionate about it since then.”
When the opportunity to move to the beef board presented itself to him, Bishop jumped at the chance. “I love getting out and meeting other producers, seeing how things are going across the United States on the production side, but more importantly, sharing our message with consumers across the country,” he said.
His work must be worthwhile because the Beef Checkoff’s most recent ROI study returned some impressive numbers. There was a $13.41 per dollar spent return on investment for beef producers. The number is up from $11.91 in the last study presented five years ago. “That speaks volumes,” he said. “On your own operation, any time you can get a $13 return on your investment, you would double down and try to do more things to continue to get that return.”
He believes that it is a testament to what the Beef Checkoff’s contractors are doing and the laser focus they have had over the past ten to fifteen years. He said that the entire framework of the promotions process has built demand for beef, and consumer satisfaction and confidence in beef.
The number was predicted to have been less due to there being less dollars available to work with, but those predictions were happily wrong. “When you look at the 1985 dollar, that dollar has the buying power today of thirty-two cents. We are getting pretty lean with what we can do with that dollar, but we are being very efficient. Our cow herd has gotten smaller, and because of that, our checkoff receipts are lower, therefore we have to get really creative with what we are doing, while still keeping the consumer and the end goal in mind.”
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
