Best of Beef Awards

Cindy Zimmerman

Kyle Bauer, general manager of KFRM radio in Kansas was the emcee of the “Best of Beef 2012” awards Thursday morning at the Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville.

Among the many awards presented were – National Retail Beef Backer, Foodservice Beef Backer, Beef Quality Assurance, Excellence in Communications, Trailblazer, National Stocker, NCBA Top Hand Club, the Max Deets Leadership and CME Group Beef Industry Scholarship awards, and Environmental Stewardship regional winners. Check out the 2012 CIC photo album to see pictures of pretty much all of the winners.

AgWired, with our parent company ZimmComm New Media, was proud to sponsor the NCBA Excellence in Communication awards for the second year of their existence. The awards recognize communications professionals from NCBA state affiliate organizations and cattle breed associations, as well as an agricultural journalist. The recipient of the 2011 Excellence in Communications and Public Relations for a state affiliate is Carmen Fenton, director of public affairs for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) and for a breed affiliate is Angie Stump Denton, director of communications for the American Hereford Association (AHA).

Pictured with me and NCBA Communications guru Mike Deering is the winner of the 2011 Excellence in Agricultural Journalism award – Pete Crow, publisher of the Western Livestock Journal (WLJ). Crow’s family has been publishing WLJ every week since 1922.

All of the communications award winners will also be recognized at the media reception this evening.

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, NAFB, NCBA, ZimmComm Announcement

Amazing Attendance at Cattle Industry Convention

Cindy Zimmerman

At about 9:00 this morning, Jesse Womack from San Antonio, Texas was filling out an on-site registration form to attend his very first Cattle Industry Convention.

Little did he know that he would become the 6,836th registrant for the convention – a new attendance record that will be beat many more times over today as the line for on-site registration was still long at 11:00 am. There will likely be well over 7,000 cattle industry members here in Nashville when it’s all said and done.

Less than an hour after he registered, Jesse joined National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) president-elect J.D. Alexander of Nebraska on stage at the convention’s second general session. For being the record-setter Jesse will get free registration for the convention next year in Tampa.

J.D. noted that 2011 was a pretty good year for the cattle industry, but challenges remain ahead for producers. “I pledge to you that my top priority as your president is to do all I can to build beef demand and producer profitability. This can only be accomplished if we are allowed to operate without government intervention and, most importantly, if decisions are made to ensure future generations are able to take over our family businesses,” Alexander said. “The death tax is the biggest deterrent to young people returning to the cattle business. What we need now are jobs, a stable economy and food for a growing global population. Leaving the next generation to choose between a life they love or the inability to pay the estate tax is not something we will tolerate.”

Listen to or download J.D.’s comments here: NCBA president-elect J.D. Alexander

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, Livestock, NCBA

Cattle Farmer Thoughts On Social Media

Chuck Zimmerman

Then National Agri-Marketing Association held it’s first ever producer panel here at the Cattle Industry Convention today. Pictured are (l-r) Jason McCann, MO, Laurie Lickely, ID, Gary Cooper, Southeast Agnet/Moderator and Kevin Kester, CA. The focus was on new communications technology.

I visited with them briefly before the session to get each of their thoughts on this subject and I think you’ll be interested to hear what they think about the importance of social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Agribusinesses will be interested to note the importance of using these channels to communicate with their farmer customers today!

Get more perspective on producer use of new communications technology in my interview with the panel here: Interview with NAMA Producer Panel

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Audio, Cattle Industry Conference, NAMA, Social Networking

Beef Board Chairman Welcomes Convention Attendees

Chuck Zimmerman

The opening general session of the Cattle Industry Convention featured welcoming remarks from the Bill Donald, President of NCBA, as well as Wesley Grau, Chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.

Wesley quoted CBB CEO, Polly Ruhland, from last summer’s meeting saying, “We are truly blessed.” He encouraged everyone to take full advantage of all the opportunities this convention provides. He says, “It’s all part of keeping our heritage alive for our children and grand children.” Saying that we’re in the middle of some changes in our industry and Beef Checkoff program he followed up with “Change is never easy but it has a reputation for being a pretty strong catalyst for growth and progress.” Wesley concluded by showing the video of past NCBA President, Steve Fogelsong, that was featured by McDonald’s. Well worth watching.

I recorded Wesley’s comments for you. His comments followed remarks from Jill Ginn, President, American National Cattlewomen: Opening Remarks From Wesley Grau

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference

NCBA Applauds Child Labor Rule Decision

Cindy Zimmerman

Just prior to the opening general session of the Cattle Industry Convention, the U.S. Labor Department announced that a proposal which would have barred children from many on-farm tasks will be revised to allow broader exemptions for parents who own or run agricultural operations.

“I have got a news flash for all of you,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) president Bill Donald as he took the stage and shared the news with some 6,000 cattle industry members from around the country who broke into applause. “That is big news. Your voices were heard – our voices were heard. This goes right to the very fiber of who we are in this country.”

Donald noted that HR departments love to hire farm kids to fill positions “because they have a work ethic. They don’t just sit on their butts and play video games. They do their chores before they catch their school bus and do them again when they get home.” Bill’s comments and the crowd’s reaction will be the next segment of “Bill on Beef”!

The proposed rules would have prevent children younger than 16 from using most power-driven equipment on farms and prohibit anyone under 19 from working in grain bins, stockyards and feedlots.

Listen to Bill’s comments during his speech here: NCBA president Bill Donald

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, Livestock, NCBA

Better Beef Sales Launched at Cattle Convention

Cindy Zimmerman

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Beef Checkoff have partnered with Merck Animal Health to launch new online retail-training program for Better Beef Sales.

The need for more training of meat-counter employees became evident after Merck Animal Health conducted a series of consumer panels that revealed consumers identify the staff behind the counter as experts. “The consumer that goes to the retail store today still sees the person behind the counter in a white coat as the butcher and they expect them to have vast knowledge of the beef products they’re selling,” said Kyle Pfieffer with Merck Animal Health, who notes that the need for training was quickly confirmed during retailer discussions.

The Better Beef Sales program includes six video segments and takes about two hours total to complete. To learn more about the Better Beef Sales retail education program, visit www.beefretail.org.

Listen to Kyle’s comments, along with Melissa Tessitore and Trevor Amen of NCBA as they introduce “Better Beef Sales” on Wednesday at the Cattle Industry Convention in Nashville: Better Beef Sales Introduction

Watch a YouTube video about the program below:

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Animal Health, Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, Livestock, NCBA, Video

NCBA Hoping for Permanent Dust Fix

Cindy Zimmerman

Agriculture won a few battles in the dust-up over farm dust regulation last year, but it remains to be seen who will win the war.

Farm dust regulation ranks high on the list of policy priorities for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in 2012, with the goal of getting the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act that was introduced last year passed by Congress and signed by the president. “The bill did pass the House of Representatives by a very commanding margin and very strong bi-partisan support,” said NCBA Deputy Environmental Counsel Ashley Lyon. “It is in the Senate and we are looking for ways to get a vote on this bill.”

Ashley says the big problem is that the president has already threatened to veto the bill. “The president continues to say that regulation of farm dust is a myth and he does not want any authority taken away from EPA,” she said. “It is not a myth, it is very real.”

The good news is that EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said she plans to retain the current dust standard instead of doubling it as was proposed in some early rulemaking drafts. “But we still are pushing the legislation because it would be a permanent fix instead of just a five year fix,” said Ashely.

Listen to an interview with Ashley about farm dust here: Ashley Lyon interview

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Audio, Beef, Cattle Industry Conference, Livestock, NCBA

Previewing Beef Board Activities

Chuck Zimmerman

To get a look at the work of the Beef Board during the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention I spoke with Polly Ruhland, CEO. Once again I’m the Beef Board Blogger and will be mostly posting on the CBB MyBeefCheckoffMeeting.com blog, something I’ve been doing since January of 2006!

Polly says there are two main governance issues being dealt with by special committees that were formed after last summer’s meeting. One of those is to review the by-laws. That special committee has presented changes to the Board and those will be voted on during the CBB Update session on Thursday. The other special committee focused on the joint committee structure and will be making recommendations during that same business session.

Get a full preview of Beef Board activities from Polly in my interview with her here: Interview with Polly Ruhland

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Ag Groups, Audio, Cattle Industry Conference

Cattle Industry Conference Coverage

Chuck Zimmerman

Hello from the 2012 Cattle Industry Convention. The ZimmComm team is on location.

Thanks to Merial once again for sponsoring our great media room. Cindy and I are situated and comfortable as we shoot photos and collect interviews to share during coming days. I hope you enjoy it!

2012 Cattle Industry Convention Photo Album

Cattle Industry Conference

Gaylord Opryland Removes HSUS Video Plug

Chuck Zimmerman

This was a very surprising sight to Cattle Industry Convention attendees when they checked in to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. It’s an image promoting the Humane Society of the United States, an organization very antagonistic to farming and animal agriculture in general. It has created quite a buzz on the floor. I have a feeling that it has something to do with the fact that HSUS holds a large pet show here in May. To find out more I have emailed a request for response to the hotel but have not heard anything back at this point. I did notify NCBA and was just notified by their staff that the hotel has apologized for this oversight and has removed the “commercial” from all television screens, including the hotel bus. It is hoped that the hotel will make sure to not air this again in the future.

That was quick work by the NCBA issues management team and I applaud them for the effort. I also applaud the Gaylord for their decision and action to be sensitive to all their clients.

Animal Activists, Cattle Industry Conference, NCBA, Wackos