CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Long-time beef industry leader Scott Stuart of Black Forest, Colorado, has been named Chief Executive Officer for the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB). CBB oversees collection of $1-per-head on all cattle sold in the U.S. and $1-per-head equivalent on imported cattle, beef and beef products.
Stuart, who will be leaving his CEO post at the National Livestock Producers Association, was unanimously approved for his position by the CBB Executive Committee and full board on December 20, and begins his tenure at CBB on February 1, 2018.
Immediately following the decision, we caught up with Stuart to ask what his motivation was in leading the checkoff program.
It gives them the ability to really be involved in the research and promotion of the product that they produce even though that product is maybe two or three steps down the line from what they have on the ranch, but they’re involved in it. And what I think is so important is not only involved at the level of investing but involved in all the decision-making and going through the process with the Operating Committee and the advisory committees, to see the involvement and the, and the time that they give to this, that’s amazing and that’s important.
The agriculture industry, the livestock industry and certainly the beef industry, it’s just something that just… it’s such an important part of people’s lives that are in it, certainly; but even that are not in it, that to get up and do something where you’re helping in some small way create and deliver food to people. That, that’s a huge motivation right there, when you get to work with producers – one on one – that realization that these guys have everything on the line and what they’re doing and to try and be an assistance to them, that’s just, if that doesn’t get you going, nothing will.
I want to get to know the leaders very well and again, know what gets them up in the morning, what their motivation is and to know what they truly expect of me. Again, I want people to know me, know that I am fully invested in what I’m going to be doing, know that I’m approachable, know that from the smallest investor in the checkoff to the largest, that I’m accessible and want to know them and know what’s on their mind.
What gets me going in the morning, especially in the winter when it’s dark and cold, is going out and doing chores because that takes you back to what’s real. And that’s taking care of animals and taking care of others. During that half hour or so that I’m out and, you know, feeding and cleaning and talking to the, to the horses, I do some of the best thinking that I do all day.
The next five years is not unlike the last five years. When we’re limited on resources that makes it tougher and tougher, and as we go forward every year gets tougher. And if we can find other ways to resource the checkoff that may not have been explored yet or haven’t been explored or it wasn’t the right time, I think that’s something that needs to truly be looked at because again, when you look at the return on investment that the checkoff is able to achieve, we can keep beef in the middle of the plate, if we can keep people trusting in and believing in beef and enjoying it, those will be the big challenges in the next 5, 10 and 15 years.
For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.
— Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion & Research Board
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