By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Although it’s long been a policymaking auspice of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. (NCBA), the Federation of State Beef Councils’ (FSBC) recent move to gain more independence from the NCBA is getting the support of state beef council executives.

“The issue of autonomy for the federation is one that strikes at the heart of credibility for the beef checkoff,” said Joe Moore, executive vice president of the Indiana Beef Council and the Indiana Beef Cattle Assoc., last Thursday.

Representing 45 state beef councils consisting of seven regional vice presidents, federation directors and beef council executives from 10 states, the FSBC met late last month as a follow-up to a resolution passed by federation directors during its cattle industry conference in July. Along with several other state executives, Moore participated in a Sept. 7 “webinar,” discussing the resolution requesting to become a more independent arm of the NCBA.

“For the beef checkoff to continue to enjoy overwhelming support among cattle producers,” he said, “it is imperative that those producers remain confident that their contributions are being spent in the manner intended by the Act and Order.”

The Act and Order requires that the NCBA’s Operating Committee contract with national nonprofit, industry-governed organizations to implement checkoff programs. In June, the NCBA’s Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) said “the federation should be separate from any policy organization” because “the checkoff is owned by, and responsible to, all producers and importers, and no specific organization.”

Appointed by FSBC Chair Scott George and Vice Chairman David Dick in the meeting, held Aug. 30-31 in Denver, Colo., the producer-led Federation Structure Working Group identified principles it said supported an independent federation structure, while also “retaining operational efficiencies found in its 14-year relationship with the NCBA.”

“While the NCBA is our national policy organization and represents thousands of American producers, the beef checkoff represents 100 percent of cattle producers, who rightfully demand that the independence and integrity of that program be maintained,” Moore said.

Dave Maples, executive vice president of the Kentucky Cattlemen’s Assoc. in Lexington, said he liked the direction the FSBC is taking with the newly-passed resolution.

“I really like the efficiency and the energy that we have with the federation in the NCBA,” he said – especially in light of an independent audit in August revealing financial improprieties in how the NCBA documented various expenses to the CBB regarding the use of beef checkoff dollars.

“It’ll be nice to have a vice president and president in charge of the federation,” Maples added. “Let’s just be as efficient as we can be with our money.”

Maples said he also wanted to have more of a point person within the beef council, who has a genuine interest in and devotion to the job. “I’ll just be glad when they get all this stuff resolved so we can go do our job at the state level,” he said.

Since the Governance Task Force’s primary recommendations were announced at the recent conference, Moore said there has been much debate about the proposed structure.

“I believe that those conversations regarding the federation’s place within the national body have been healthy for our industry,” he said.

“If they reveal anything to our producers, it is the degree of vigilance demonstrated in protecting the beef checkoff and how seriously the leadership takes their responsibility of protecting the soundness of the program for the future.”

The next step in the process is to share the draft recommendations with the USDA to gain feedback, the FSBC stated. Following the feedback period and development of final recommendations, federation directors are expected to vote on the matter during the upcoming cattle industry convention in Denver in February 2011.