World Dairy Diary

Beef Quality Assurance Awards Announced

The first ever winners of the BQA Award were announced today and one of them is a dairy producer.

Quality. It’s not only a word written in an instruction manual but a responsible action – one must live it and then teach it. That was the underlying theme this week as two producers were honored with the national Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) award, created to recognize outstanding beef and dairy producers from across the country who incorporate BQA principles as part of the day-to-day activities on their operations. The winners were selected based upon their commitment to beef quality assurance while operating sustainable cattle operations.

A common trait among the two winners is a strong desire to continually improve BQA on their operations while successfully encouraging others around them to implement BQA. The National BQA award winners are selected annually by a committee of representatives from universities, state beef councils and cattle industry groups. For more information about the beef checkoff or BQA program, visit www.bqa.org, www.dbqa.org or www.beefboard.org.

Listen to my interview with Jim and Anne here:

Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

New Beef Checkoff Site for Producers

As a follow-up to Chuck’s coverage of the Joint Beef & Dairy Information Symposium here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference, dairy producers should be aware that the Cattlemen’s Beef Board has launched a new website, designed to be the one place to go to find out how national beef checkoff dollars are invested and the results of those investments. Don’t forget that as a dairy producer, you are also a beef producer!

“The site is interactive, well organized and very user-friendly,” says CBB member Richard Nielson, cow-calf producer from Ephraim, Utah, and chair of the producer communications committee. “Most important is that the design is very versatile allowing us to deliver a number of different services to different users. For example, with the launch of the new site, we’re also offering ‘sign-and-go’ newsletters in beef and dairy editions to help producers stay up to date on their checkoff.”

“It is our hope that the site brings producers together, whether they are a dairy producer in New York or a beef producer in Washington, with the knowledge they need to educate their neighbor about the checkoff over a cup of coffee,” says Nielson. “That’s the unique thing about the new site – it reinforces the idea that producers can’t be everywhere, but their checkoff can.”

Beef Budget and Checkoff Recommendations

CBB’s Chief Executive Officer is Tom Ramey. This morning he made a presentation at the second general session of the Cattle Industry Summer Conference. You can listen to his presentation below.

I also interviewed Tom and found out that there are two main issues of special importance to the Beef Checkoff here at this conference. The first one, according to Tom, is the budget. The recommended budget was presented at the CBB Update Session and committees will be looking at the parts that affect them during their meetings. Tom says that Checkoff dollars are down and that it’s a tough time right now. He says some difficult decisions will need to be made.

The other big issue is the process to create recommendations for ways to improve the Checkoff. Tom says the staff has sent out over 300 letters soliciting comments and that they’ll be organizing meetings with a number of the organizations targeted. Once those comments come in the staff will organize them and scrub them so that the Admin Subcommittee, which is charged with overseeing this process, can look at them on the merit of the comment without being affected by seeing who wrote them. Then the staff will be helping organize meetings with the committee to review the comments and formulate recommendations prior to the end of the year.

Tom says producers here seem excited about what the Checkoff is doing but are concerned about the budget. He says these are difficult times for the beef industry.

Listen to my interview with Tom here:

Listen to Tom’s general session presentation here:

Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Focus on Consumer Perceptions

One of the main dairy groups represented at today’s Joint Beef & Dairy Information Symposium here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference was Dairy Management Inc. David Pelzer is Senior VP, Industry Image & Relations. DMI is a non-profit organization that manages the Dairy Checkoff.

I spoke to him today about dairy and beef producers getting together and discussing common issues. He says that on the dairy side of things it’s important for the industry to become more consumer driven instead of just production driven. As he puts it, “Give consumers what they want, when they want it and how they want it.”

He says that on-farm practices or the consumer’s perception of on-farm practices can affect buying habits. For this reason he says that all DMI related organizations are becoming increasingly focused on consumer perceptions. He wants to show consumers that it’s standard operating procedure for beef and dairy producers to care about their animals and the environment.

David thinks this Symposium is a great opportunity to get together.

You can listen to my interview with David here:

Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Dairy Industry Animal Welfare Program

Earlier this week the National Dairy Board met and like last year, that meeting ended just in time for attendees to meet with beef producers at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference, Joint Beef & Dairy Information Symposium. One of those people is Rob Byrne, Sr. VP Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, National Milk Producers Federation.

I spoke with Rob during today’s session. He was on the second part of the program that focused on animal care and welfare. Rob thinks that this joint meeting idea is fantastic. It’s an opportunity to discuss issues of common interest. Animal care just happens to be a primary one right now.

Rob says the dairy industry has actually worked on this issue for many years. Recently released videos have sensationalized what is a very uncommon practice though and that has brought this issue to the forefront. He says that the increased consumer interest probably won’t result in any significant changes since producers in general do take good care of their animals but the situation he says, has placed a renewed focus on it. Rob says that this is currently a primary focus for NMPF. To that end, he says they’re forming a national animal welfare and care program for the dairy industry.

You can listen to my interview with Rob here:

Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Dairy and Beef Producers Meeting Jointly

It’s Cattle Industry Summer Conference time once again. I’m helping out the Cattlemen’s Beef Board with their Beef Board Meeting.com as I have for several years now.

The current Vice Chairman of the CBB is Lucinda Williams. Lucinda is married to a 12th-generation dairy producer and farmer in Hatfield, Mass., on her 220-acre family owned farm, which dates back to 1661.

Lucinda not only got things moving in the Executive Committee meeting this morning but welcomed everyone to the second annual Joint Beef & Dairy Information Symposium. That session split it’s focus between nutrient-rich foods and animal care and welfare.

Lucinda says it’s hugely important to work together like this. She thinks it’s very important for producers to take time out of their busy schedules to come together and work jointly on issues common to each area. She acknowledges that animal care has become a big issue.

Because of Beef Checkoff efforts though she says that they’ve been able to counteract some of the sensationalism and keep consumer confidence in both beef and dairy products. She also likes to remind dairy producers that they are also beef producers.

You can listen to my interview with Lucinda here:

You can find a lot of pictures from the conference taking place here in my online photo album: Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album

Dairy and Beef Industries Team Up

The 2008 Cattle Industry Summer Conference will host a Beef-Dairy Animal Care and Quality Assurance Symposium for the second year in the row. Pre-registration is now open for the July 16th symposium, held at the Sheraton Denver Hotel (formerly the Adam’s Mark) in downtown Denver. Pre-registration is open through June 25.

The Summer Conference will be held July 15-19 and is co-sponsored by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB), American National CattleWomen, Inc. (ANCW), and the National Cattlemen’s Foundation.

At last year’s Cattle Industry Summer Conference, the National Dairy Council and the Beef Checkoff Program teamed up for a joint nutrition symposium. This session examined the common nutrition environment faced by the beef and dairy industries, and the cooperative work being performed by the Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition. This year’s attendees will receive an update on the work of this coalition, including collaborative efforts in completing a new scientific index, successful thought leader outreach and education, and promoting the importance of high-quality protein in the diet.

Dairy Producer Vice Chairs Beef Board

The Cattlemen’s Beef Board unanimously elected dairywoman Lucinda Williams to serve as vice chairman of the Board for 2008. Williams is a 12th-generation dairy producer and farmer from Hatfield, Mass., who was appointed to the Beef Board by the Secretary of Agriculture in 2004.

Find out more about Lucinda by listening to this “Milking Parlor” podcast:

To subscribe to the Milking Parlor podcast, here are some instructions.

Just a Reminder

This story isn’t just for dairy producers in Wisconsin, it’s a good reminder for all dairy producers across the country. Don’t forget that you also play a role in the beef industry too.

Brownfield’s Bob Meyer spoke with Nancy Thomas of the Wisconsin Beef Council during the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Meeting in Madison. Thomas says the dairy industry plays a large role in the beef market.

Both the Wisconsin Beef Council and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board place a tremendous amount of research for new products and for safety. “Safety is a very key issue for producers,” Thomas says. “The research projects that go on insure that our product is safe and we can’t emphasize enough that our product is a safe product that is made for our consumers.”

Beefscapes Make Mouths Water

The Beef Checkoff Program has launched a revamped advertising campaign called “Powerful Beefscapes” which will include a new spokesperson - actor and 2005’s “Sexiest Man Alive” Matthew McConaughey!

The goal is to reinforce people’s passion for our product, while emphasizing beef’s healthiness.This effort is called Powerful Beefscapes. “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner” tagline, begun in 1992, is still incorporated in these ads, as is Aaron Copland’s “Hoe Down” theme music.

Dairy Beef Is Consistent and Grades Higher

One of the speakers at the Dairy Producers Forum at the Cattle Industry Convention was Bridget Baird. She’s the Associate Director, Product Enhancement, in NCBA’s Research and Knowledge Management group. Her responsibilities include project management and research dissemination.

I spoke to her just prior to her presentation and she says she would focus on the work that her group has been involved in. That includes work on all the factors that affect beef quality like tenderness, flavor, juiciness and consistency.

She says that work in this area covers all beef types including dairy beef as well. A lot of her comments come from the Market Cow Muscle Profiling Study that was started in 2000. It’s one of the studies that has provided the impetus behind new beef value cuts.

Bridget makes the observation that data shows that dairy beef is very consistent in quality and that often it’s some of the higher grading beef.

You can listen to my interview with Bridget here:

You can find a lot more pictures and interviews over on the Beef Checkoff website Beef Board Meeting.com.

Dairy Producers Forum at Cattle Industry Convention

Beef and dairy producers were once again able to get together at the Cattle Industry Convention by attending the annual Dairy Producers Forum.

This year it was chaired by Jenny Senn, South Carolina. Jenny says that she gives all the credit for this great event to Gary Sharp who got it started. She says that originally it was an early morning meeting attended by very few but that now it has grown into a large and well-attended event.

Jenny says that beef and dairy producers have a lot in common and this forum allows them to get together while they’re at the convention to share their views.

This year’s program featured several speakers including a presentation about veal.

You can listen to my interview with Jenny here:

Beef and Dairy Getting Along

Once again I’m attending the Cattle Industry Convention which is taking place in Reno, NV and reporting on it for the Beef Board on their Beef Board Meeting.com website.

One of the people I spoke with on the CBB Administration Subcommittee is Jerry King from Missouri. He’s pictured on the left during this evening’s meeting. By the way, if you want to see who is a member of the Beef Board you can find the list using this link.

Jerry represents dairy on the board and is in his second term. He says a significant percentage of beef comes from dairy animals so it’s very important to have this segment of the industry represented. A lot of reaching out to dairy has occurred like the joint mtg. of the Beef Board and Dairy Boards at last summer’s meeting. Jerry says beef and dairy producers are “one big happy family” now.

He says the buzz here so far has been about prices (beef, feed, milk) with some of it being good. He mentions ethanol and that it’s playing a role. Right now he says it’s an exciting and changing time.

You can listen to my interview with Jerry here:

Dairy Producers are in the Beef Business Too

We may be at a dairy show but there’s been plenty of opportunities to eat some good beef. In fact, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board is here and I spoke with their CEO, Tom Ramey.

Tom points out that dairy cows make up 22% of the beef supply and that’s significant. He says that half of our beef is being marketed as whole muscle cuts.

Tom also says that research shows that the Checkoff has added about $70 - $100/head on dairy cows in the last few years. He says that producers can go to BeefBoard.org to find out more and that they’ve started a weekly email to communicate what’s being done with Checkoff dollars. To subscribe to it just email your request to be put on the list to Diane Henderson.

Listen to our “Milking Parlor” podcast with Tom here: Interview with Tom Ramey (MP3)

To subscribe to the Milking Parlor podcast, here are some instructions.

Using New Media to Cover WDX

We will be bringing you daily coverage of World Dairy Expo this week here on World Dairy Diary thanks to a sponsorship package put together by Charleston-Orwig of Hartland, Wisconsin.

CEO Lyle Orwig says they are a marketing and communications agency that has been serving agriculture since 1992.

“We work nationally and internationally with clients who market products to producers as well as conducting issues management programs for everyone basically from the farm gate to the dinner plate,” said Orwig.

Being located in Wisconsin, Orwig says they have close ties to dairy production and many clients within the industry. “Clients like Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition, BASF Plant Science that markets NutriDense in the silage industry, Dairyland Seed, Hoard’s Dairyman,” said Orwig. “We also do projects for the Holstein Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Smithfield Foods which also owns Packerland Packing now, and also with Westfalia-Surge which markets milking machine and dairy hygiene products.”

Orwig says World Dairy Expo is the perfect opportunity for dairy product marketers to interact with dairy industry professionals, but they realize not everyone can make it to Madison for the show. “But virtually every producer is interested in learning how to save money or be more efficient in their production,” he says. To reach those producers who can’t be there, they decided to sponsor coverage on World Dairy Diary, especially in podcast form - kicking off our new dairy podcast “The Milking Parlor.”

Listen to Cindy’s “Milking Parlor” podcast with Lyle here:

Bringing Together Beef and Dairy

One of the members of the National Dairy Board attending the Cattle Industry Summer Conference is Paula Meabon, pictured here with her husband, Randy. I talked with Paula about the new emphasis on beef and dairy working together.

She’s all for it. That makes sense since Randy is on the Beef Board! Talk about some beef and dairy collaboration and synergy. Really though she believes that the effort to bring the two organizations together for more collaborative projects only makes sense.

In my interview with her she mentions the Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition which both the beef and dairy checkoffs are involved with. She says that one of their goals is to keep their position on the food guide pyramid and that sounds like it takes good research.

Here’s a description of the Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition:

The Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition is a partnership that brings together leading scientific researchers, communications experts and agricultural commodities. Our members are composed of 12 food commodity associations that represent the five basic MyPyramid food groups.

The Coalition supports the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid and encourages widespread research and educational efforts that help consumers make their calories count more by enjoying nutrient-rich foods first.

Listen to my interview with Paula here (4 min):

Dr. Gary Smith Says it Like it Is

You don’t ever have to wonder how Dr. Gary Smith (Colorado State Universtiy) really feels. He’ll just plain tell you in his presentations. Yesterday he was the speaker at the Dairy Producers Education Forum lunch here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference. This session is put on by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.

It was the biggest attendance yet for this now annual session.

I recorded his presentation which I’m posting here for you if you’d like to hear it for yourself.

He talks about his slides but I think you’ll still get some good information from the recording.

Listen to Dr. Gary Smith’s presentation here (40 min):

Dairy and Beef Working Together

To get a dairy producers’ perspective on the collaboration between the beef and diary checkoffs here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference I met Kimberly Clauss pictured on the right here with Joe Bavido, DMI. I want to thank Joe for introducing me to Kimberly.

Kimberly is a dairy producer from California who currently serves as Vice Chairman of the National Dairy Board.

She says that this was the first time the two groups have met together and believe that it will establish better relationships and that members of both organizations have learned more about each other and the work they’re doing.

Kimberly says that there are real good prospects for more synergy between the beef and dairy checkoffs and that it’s very necessary.

She says that there are fewer and fewer producers and it’s important to find ways to pool money to be used on research which will benefit everyone.

She also points out that dairy producers are in the beef business too and it’s important for them to be involved and learn more about what is going on with the beef checkoff too.

Listen to my interview with the Kimberly Clauss here (4 min.):

Beef Board Meeting Overview

The executive committee of the Beef Board is already at work here in Denver. They get together to make sure everything is in order before everyone else arrives at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference. At their lunch meeting I spoke with CBB chairman, Ken Stielow (3rd from left). He provides us with an overview of the conference from the Checkoff perspective.

Ken says that they’re going to be BUSY. For one thing he says they’ll get to see a new set of creative advertising that’s being proposed. That’s going to take some time and thought. Although it’s fun to see the new ideas he says they take it very seriously since there is a big responsibility to spend Checkoff dollars wisely.

Ken says that while the Beef Board is meeting the dairy checkoff organization will also be meeting. He says this will provide an opportunity for better support and understanding on the part of dairy producers. He’s also hoping that by meeting together they’ll find some synergy in some of the promotional efforts each organization is working on.

Listen to my interview with Ken here (4 min.):

Dairy and Beef Meetings in Denver

This week I’m attending the Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver, CO. One of my jobs is posting onto the Cattlemen’s Beef Board website called Beef Board Meeting.com. I should have some stories and interviews for you as the week unfolds.

Besides the NCBA and CBB meeting here we’ve also got the National Dairy Council meeting at the same time/place for the first time. The NDC started off with a general meeting this afternoon. Here’s what they’ll be doing with the beef people tomorrow.

A unique highlight of this year’s Summer Conference will take place Tuesday, July 17, when the National Dairy Council and the Beef Checkoff team up for a nutrition symposium. The session will examine the common nutrition environment currently faced by the beef and dairy industries. Topics will include areas that the two industries work on together – the Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition, the importance of high-quality protein in the diet, and putting fatty acids into perspective.

I think this makes a lot of sense. Dairy producers are in the beef business and are paying the Beef Checkoff too.

I’ll be uploading photos from the conference all week to an online photo album so feel free to browse it: 2007 Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album