I received a rash of emails this week regarding the checkoff piece I wrote in last week’s edition of BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly. Certainly, there’s a lot of frustration in the country that things have been allowed to degenerate to such a level. The politicization of the checkoff and it becoming the major battle ground for internal industry political power games is the exact opposite of what was intended for the program

Troy Marshall 2, BEEF Contributing Editor

March 24, 2011

1 Min Read
I'm Not Naming Names

I received a rash of emails this week regarding the checkoff piece I wrote in last week’s edition of BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly ("Thoughts On The Checkoff Fiasco”). Certainly, there’s a lot of frustration in the country that things have been allowed to degenerate to such a level. The politicization of the checkoff and it becoming the major battle ground for internal industry political power games is the exact opposite of what was intended for the program.

I haven’t gone into detail about the unethical and secret spying of phone calls and the breaches of trust because hopefully they will be dealt within the OIG investigations taking place. And while the principal players still have their jobs, others have lost theirs as a result of indiscretions, so it’s not too difficult to figure out which leaders were engaged in activities more reminiscent of Watergate than what we’d expect in this industry.

Without question, if we’re ever going to rebuild trust and move forward, certain people will have to move on. And, I’m confident that producers will take the necessary steps to ensure the viability of the checkoff for the long term.

We all want the checkoff to focus on building demand, and we all want the industry to move forward with minimal damage. Perhaps it’s wrong on my part for not airing all the dirty laundry, but producers will fix things for the good of the industry, and it probably doesn’t serve anyone to get too far ahead of the process.

About the Author(s)

Troy Marshall 2

BEEF Contributing Editor

Troy Marshall is a multi-generational rancher who grew up in Wheatland, WY, and obtained an Equine Science/Animal Science degree from Colorado State University where he competed on both the livestock and World Champion Horse Judging teams. Following college, he worked as a market analyst for Cattle-Fax covering different regions of the country. Troy also worked as director of commercial marketing for two breed associations; these positions were some of the first to provide direct links tying breed associations to the commercial cow-calf industry.

A visionary with a great grasp for all segments of the industry, Troy is a regular opinion contributor to BEEF Cow-Calf Weekly. His columns are widely reprinted and provide in-depth reporting and commentary from the perspective of a producer who truly understands the economics and challenges of the different industry segments. He is also a partner/owner in Allied Genetic Resources, a company created to change the definition of customer service provided by the seedstock industry. Troy and his wife Lorna have three children. 

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