Agricultural News
Beef Board Executive Committee Backs Away from Email Vote on Structural Changes
Thu, 31 Mar 2011 22:37:57 CDT
Earlier this week, the Executive Committee of the Cattlemen's Beef Board has sent out a complicated and very extensive proposal to the rank and file members of the CBB, asking them to approve structural changes to how the CBB operates and interacts with the Federation of State Beef Councils and contractors (primarily the National Cattlemen's Beef Association). These recommendations have come from a group they call the "Roles and Responsibilities Committee."
The changes proposed are extensive- and it appears the Executive Committee took the unusual step of trying to get approval via email for these changes from the Beef Board members to be able to make these changes in advance of their scheduled summer meeting in early August in Florida. Among the changes are the dumping of the Industry Long Range Plan that was approved by both the Beef Board and the NCBA this past winter in Denver and to establish it's own plan of action- including how beef checkoff money will be spent. They also propose to establish their own Committees to help implement whatever plan is developed- which implies they would stop participating in the joint committees that have been a part of the industry structure for many years.
In addition, they seem to want to do an end around the current Federation of State Beef Councils and establish their own ties directly with state Beef Councils and pitch them to contribute money directly to CBB national spending plans.
After a multitude of CBB members objected to not having a full and open debate in person over these major changes to the checkoff body, the Executive Committee sent an email on Thursday afternoon informing CBB members that "we have terminated the email voting on the recommendations and we will include a discussion of the recommendations on the agenda of an extended CBB update Session during the summer conference. We will also send you additional information about the Board's roles and responsibilities over the comng months so that you have the information needed to make decisions this summer."
Several of the Oklahoma members of the Cattlemen's Beef Board registered strong objections to the way the vote was being conducted, as well as the legality of making some of the changes. One of those Oklahoma CBB members was Brian Healey, who expressed the concern that "I believe the proposed changes may very well be taking actions that are beyond the scope of our duties as outlined in the act and order." Healey, from Davis, Oklahoma, added that he would like to see written opinions from legal counsel for the CBB and a written opinion from the USDA's Ag Marketing Service that these recommendations line up with the law that established the checkoff.
And Healey, whose dad Burke was a major player for many years at the state and national level in the cattle industry, offered a bit of historical perspective that shows his concern for the direction of the Executive Committee. "I have been involved with the CBB through family, appointment or association membership in some shape or form now for 20 plus years and it is truly my opinion this is history repeating itself. This is a path we have been down once before. The proposed outline is an avenue to duplication of expenses and isolation from our contractors, our state beef councils and most importantly, the ones that pay the checkoff, the producers. To once again duplicate committees by having our own, rather than continuing to be a part of our contractor's committees is tremendously inefficient and wasteful. What do we gain by becoming isolationists? The dollar we have today, as we all know, is not the dollar we once had. We must be united in our efforts. If there are efficiencies to been seen in this newly proposed system, let them be presented."
After word came from the Executive Committee that they were backing away from an email vote, we talked with David Dick, the Chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils. We dicuss this whole issue with him on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the state on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also 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.
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