Radio Oklahoma Ag Network’s senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays spoke with Vice Chair of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board Ryan Moorhouse about his role with the Beef Checkoff as they were heading into the Cattle Industry Summer Meeting, held July 8–10, 2024, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, in San Diego, California.
Our coverage from the 2024 Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting is powered by Farm Data Services of Stillwater.
Moorhouse grew up on a family-owned, cow/calf and stocker operation in north central Texas. After high school, he attended Texas A&M University where he received a BS in Agribusiness in 1997. Upon graduation, he went to work for Continental Grain Cattle Feeding (now Five Rivers). He is currently the General Manager for Hartley Feeders, a Five Rivers Cattle Feeding operation, which he has served for about 25 years.In addition, Ryan operates his own stocker operation back home on part of the family ranch in Amarillo, Texas.
When Ron asked why Moorhouse serves the Beef Checkoff, he replied with a chuckle, “They pay us so much to hold these positions, so I have a hard time saying no.”
Then on a more serious note, he added, “If I’m not serving, someone else might be that has ill intentions for the industry or for the Checkoff. I feel like it is our job to put our product out there, and it’s a great product, so that is why I do what I do.”
Ryan was a board member with the Texas Beef Council and was really interested in foreign marketing of beef and actually served on the board of the US Meat Export Federation- the USMEF. Recently, he has spent more time on the research side, and has become passionate about it and the dollar spent on research. He said, “I like making sure the research will add value down the road and isn’t redundant to other things that have been done. Research is very important, but it is sometimes difficult for other people to understand why you would want to spend that much on research.”
Moorhouse knows that the Beef Checkoff does a lot of good, but also knows that everyone has different opinions about where money should be spent, but as he said, “If you look at beef demand since the mid-nineties and some of the great things that the Beed Checkoff has done, demand has been outstanding. Despite droughts and cattle cycles, beef demand continues to rise. Due to the increase in demand, there is more money available to all producers and other segments of the industry.”
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