Things were very relaxed here in Reno last night so I sat down with Beef Board CEO, Tom Ramey (l), Cheri Delgado, Senior Executive Assistant and Executive Dir. of Communications, Lynn Heinze to get a preview of what will be going on.
Tom says that this is the beginning of the annual planning cycle for the Beef Board. He says they examine what the priorities are for the coming FY ’09 or as they call them, “planning factors,” which are those items they think will impact the ability to increase demand for beef. He says that one of the things that the producer communications committee will be doing is reviewing agency proposals since the Board brought this important element of the Checkoff in-house.
Lynn has been on board for about 2 months and he says that his first priority was to make the taking of producers communications in-house a smooth transition, something that I have personally found to be the case. He says they’ve added new staff to assist with this effort and that their first paid advertising will start this month in national publications, with some regional inserts starting shortly after that and some radio and tv advertising later in the spring. He says they hope to have the process of selecting an agency to work with complete by mid-March.
You can listen to my conversation with Tom and Lynn here:cic-08-tom-lynn.mp3
Joe Schuele and Grace Webb, NCBA, say hello from the news center at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center where the Cattle Industry Convention is getting kicked off.
This is the first time since we’ve been biodiesel blogging that I can’t be at the National Biodiesel Conference but Cindy and John are there and boy have they been posting some content. You can see posts like this one on the 
On the road again. Here’s Oakland Airport on the way to Reno. It was a beautiful day for flying. On the way out there were plenty of cowboy hats on the plane.
At the NCBA Trade Show, over 250 companies will offer attendees a chance to see the latest products and services while networking with other cattle producers. In addition, many booths will feature giveaways, games and prize drawings. Whether you are looking for farm vehicles, fencing, feed supplies, animal health products or the latest in technology, you’ll find it right here under one roof.
There’s a new report out from 
Hello on 
It’s been a while since I’ve received an old fashioned printed media kit in the mail without some kind of CD or link to more web information. That’s why I was interested to see the announcement about 
I’ll be Rushing off to Reno early on Monday to attend the 
While I’m in Reno, Cindy and John Davis will be in Orlando for the