The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the appointment of 26 members to serve on the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. Twenty-five members will serve three-year terms and one member will serve a one-year term. The term of board members appointed to three-year terms start February 2024 and end February 2027.
Newly appointed members are:
- Arkansas – Caleb Plyler, Hope, Ark.
- Colorado – Sallie R. Miller, Briggsdale, Colo.
- Florida – Sarah K. Childs, Lake Placid, Fla.
- Idaho – Tucker Shaw, Caldwell, Idaho and Gwenna R. Prescott, Carey, Idaho
- Kansas – Marisa Kleysteuber, Garden City, Kan., and Jacquelyne Renae Leffler, Americus, Kan.
- Kentucky – Andy Bishop, Cox’s Creek, Ky.
- Missouri – Kalena Bruce, Stockton, Mo.
- Montana – Verna J. Billedeaux, Browning, Mont.
- Nebraska – Gina M. Hudson, Belvidere, Neb., and Bree A. DeNaeyer, Seneca, Neb., and Don V. Cain, Jr., D.V.M., M.S., Broken Bow, Neb.
- North Dakota – Jason Schmidt, Medina, N.D.
- Oklahoma – Cheryl DeVuyst, Morrison, Okla., and Gaye Pfeiffer, Mulhall, Okla.
- South Dakota – David O. Uhrig, Hermosa, S.D.
- Texas – JoJo Carrales, Flatonia, Texas and J. Ryan Moorhouse, Amarillo, Texas and Mark Sustaire, Winnsboro, Texas and Pat McDowell, Wheeler, Texas
- Southwest Unit – Melissa Daniels, Nicasio, Calif.
- Importer Unit – Doug McNicholl, Washington, DC, and Kimberly A. D’Anella, Wenonah, N.J., and Andrew Banchi, Trevor, Wis., and Matthew Allan, Washington, DC (1-year term)
The board is authorized by the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 and is composed of 99 members representing 34 States and 5 units. Members must be beef producers or importers of beef and beef products nominated by certified producer organizations. More information about the board is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Cattlemen’s Beef Board webpage.
Since 1966, Congress has authorized the development of industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to pool their resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. AMS provides oversight of 22 boards, paid for by industry assessments, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies, and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities, that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.
