More than 30 new members of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board were sworn in at the Cattle Industry Summer meeting last week, along with all the continuing members of the board. Since at least 20 percent of the beef supply in the nation comes from dairy farms, many of those who help to decide how the $1 per head beef checkoff is spent on the national level are dairy producers.

One of the new members on the board is J. Craig Kesler, South Carolina. Craig has a dairy farm of Jersey cattle and a cow/calf operation and is serving on the Advertising Committee for CBB. Kesler says what motivated him to get involved was that you “have to step forward as a farmer and make your voice heard” and he urges other producers, “Get involved.”

Listen to an interview with Craig Kesler from the summer meeting here: Craig Kesler Interview

Another dairy producer new to the CBB is Kevin Frankenbach of Missouri. Kevin is a dairy producer from Hannibal who has been serving on the Missouri Beef Industry Council prior to be appointed to the national board and says his work on the state level helped prepare him for this position. He’s on the Culinary and New Product Development Committee of CBB.

Listen to an interview with Kevin here: Kevin Frankkenbach Interview

Coverage of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board meeting at the Cattle Industry Summer Convention can be found on mybeefcheckoffmeeting.com.