AgWired

Mike John is on the left and John Queen is on the right. Mike’s the outgoing president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and John is the incoming. The changeover takes place tomorrow.

I interviewed them together this morning and asked them about the challenges they faced and will face in the cattle business.

I think Mike has a future in podcasting with his voice. Mike says that the policy process that comes from the grass roots of cattle producers who are members of the NCBA has worked very well during his tenure and John says that he will make sure that continues.

Download and listen to my interview with them here: John-John Interview (4 min. MP3 File)

Or listen here now:

The USDA recently announced the results of a nationwide Beef Checkoff survey that they had done by the Gallup Organization. At the Beef Checkoff update session yesterday Gallup representative, Donna Kholpak, pictured here with Kenny Payne, USDA, gave a summary of the survey and answered questions.

I interviewed her right before the session. She said she was personally surprised with how open cattle producers were when they took the survey. She shares some of the findings with me in the interview like the the fact that 72 percent of those surveyed either strongly approve or somewhat approve of the Beef Checkoff program.

This was a survey that was required by the settlement of the lawsuit between the Livestock Marketing Association and the Beef Board. I think it’s interesting that the results of this very large sample size survey are pretty close to the results of the much smaller annual survey the Checkoff has done on its own. In fact, on some questions the USDA survey found higher producer approval!

Download and listen to Donna here: Donna Kholpak Interview (4 min. MP3 File)

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Have you ever had a chance to meet one of the National Beef Ambassadors? If not you can listen to an interview with one of the five students who were selected to be the current Ambassadors for the Beef Checkoff.

These students do a lot of traveling over the year going to events and talking to consumbers.

Amanda Rankin is from California and volunteered to be interviewed. She’s in the picture, second from the left.

Download and listen to Amanda here: Amanda Rankin Interview (3 min. MP3 File)

Or listen here now: