Oklahoma Farm Report - Clay Burtrum, Oklahoma Rancher And Chairman of The Federation of State Beef Councils, Explains How Volunteer Producers Work Together to Increase Beef Demand

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Clay Burtrum, Oklahoma Rancher And Chairman of The Federation of State Beef Councils, Explains How Volunteer Producers Work Together to Increase Beef Demand

Fri, 21 May 2021 08:04:56 CDT

Clay Burtrum, Oklahoma Rancher And Chairman of The Federation of State Beef Councils, Explains How Volunteer Producers Work Together to Increase Beef Demand Beef demand is strong today, much of it due to the efforts of volunteer cattle producers working together through qualified state beef councils to promote beef.

On today's Beef Buzz we have a tutorial from Clay Burtrum, Stillwater, Okla., rancher and chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils, on how the efforts are coordinated locally and nationally.

Qualified state beef councils collect the $1 per head beef checkoff and provide 50 cents of that $1 to the Cattlemen's Beef Board for national efforts. The remaining 50 cents is used for their own efforts to promote and increase demand for beef.

The qualified beef councils are joined together in a federation.

The federation's vision is to build beef demand by inspiring unifying and support an effective state and national checkoff partnership, Burtrum said.

We believe in partnering with the 44 qualified state beef councils in what we do, he said.

Burturm said they have three major statements guiding their efforts.

We believe in the success of a strong state and national partnership to increase consumer demand for beef and higher consumer confidence, he said.

We believe in the producer control of the checkoff dollars, he said.

We also believe in the industry's long-range plan as a guidepost for the beef checkoff and the principle of one vision, one plan and one voice, he added.

The Oklahoma rancher said it is important to understand that producers control the checkoff funds.

There is a beef promotion operating committee where 20 producer members control the national checkoff dollar, he said.

This is truly a grassroots organization, he said.

One thing we have to remember is we are all in the beef business, we're not segmented, Burturm said.

Burtrum stressed the producers involved in the beef councils are all volunteers.

This industry has given me so much and I want to give back to this industry that I care about, he said.

The volunteer efforts start with the basics educating children and their parents.

We have 44 qualified state beef councils, and they are all doing different programs and as we pool our ideas and work together, that's what makes our federation so strong, he said.

Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear more of Ron's interview with Clay Burtrum.

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.