Understanding the Beef Checkoff: A Deep Dive with NCBA’s Dan Gattis at CattleCon 2025

Listen to Ron Hays talking to Dan Gattis about the NCBA’s Federation Division and its role in the Beef Checkoff.

At NCBA’s 2025 CattleCon, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays caught up with the Chairman of the Federation Division of the NCBA, Dan Gattis – a Texas cattle producer himself. Oklahoma Farm Report’s coverage of CattleCon is powered by Farm Data Services.

NCBA’s Federation Division is comprised of the 43 Qualified State Beef Councils which collect the dollar per head beef checkoff monies. Half of the money goes to the national organization and half stays with the State Beef Councils.

The Beef Checkoff’s mission is to grow demand for beef and ensure consumers’ confidence in the safety, nutritious fortitude, and health of deciding to consume beef.

“Those things that we do in the checkoff is what ultimately drives those dollars back to me as a cow calf producer,” Gattis said. “I came to realize how important that was; how important that message was, and the research that goes into those messages is.”

Hays noted that the Beef Checkoff is one of the most complicated programs of its kind.

With a laugh, Gattis replied, “That is a function of who we are as cattle producers. We are an independent lot. There is no question about it! When we looked at creating the checkoff originally, this is the process that the producers believed was the right model. It was truly a local and national effort coupled together with the producers making the decisions as to how these checkoff dollars are spent. I will tell you, that is exactly what happens.”

He said that the detractors still questioning the Beef Checkoff’s value are welcome because he and his team are prepared to answer the questions for any who will listen. He detailed how 700 different producers sit on the states’ beef councils and funnel information up to the National Federation.

“That is how the message truly gets brought from the grassroots all the way to the checkoff side,” Gattis declared. “The Federation is probably the best model at doing that.”

He said that he is most proud of the Federation’s volunteered support. Each state council volunteers its support for the national organization.  

One project that NCBA’s Federation is currently involved in is the Red Meat Yield Research. The goal of the research is to connect the return of the investments that producers make to the Checkoff.

“For sixty years, we’ve been making improvements to quality grade, but we haven’t touched the yield grade,” Gattis pointed out. “The amount of product that you are producing is important to that equation. I think this research is going to be really important to the bottom line back to the producer.”

Hays and Gattis continued to further discuss how spending decisions are made in the Beef Checkoff. Click the listen bar at the top of the page to hear the complete conversation.

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