Agricultural News
Beef Board Given Clean Bill of Health by USDA Auditors
Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:41:24 CDT
After conducting an audit of the Agricultural Marketing Service's oversight of the beef checkoff system, the Office of the Inspector General for the USDA "determined that the relationships between the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board (beef board) and other industry-related organizations, including the beef board's primary contractor, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), complied with legislation. We also determined that the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) needs to strengthen its procedures for providing oversight to the beef research and promotion program."
Weldon Wynn, Cattlemen's Beef Board chairman, hailed the audit's findings and released the following statement:
"We are gratified that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit of the Beef Checkoff Program for the years 2008-2010 identified no audit issues and reported full compliance by the Beef Board and its contractors.
"In quoting directly from the report: 'The relationships between the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board and other industry-related organizations including - the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, complied with the (Act and Order)-. Funds were collected, distributed and expended in accordance with the legislation.'
"We are proud to receive this validation of the effectiveness of our systems and processes to safeguard producer and importer investments into the Beef Checkoff Program.
"Even with OIG's confirmation that the Beef Board's systems of oversight of funds are robust and effective and that its relationships with checkoff contractors are in compliance, the Beef Board maintains a mission toward continual improvement in our responsibility to producers. Since 2010, for example, CBB has operated under an intensified review and verification process, along with expanded and specific guidelines for contractors. In addition, CBB now requires contractors to provide additional information about implementation costs as they prepare funding requests, thus providing decision-makers with a more detailed understanding of project costs before approving them.
"The bottom line: Producers and importers can be assured by the OIG report and the Beef Board's mission of continual improvement that our checkoff dollars are being invested appropriately and effectively."
The inspector general did, however, recommend that the "AMS needs to develop and implement oversight procedures specific to the beef board, perform management reviews of the beef program, and recommend that the beef board improve the transparency of its documents."
For a copy of the full report, go to OIG Audit Results.
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