1. CBB Policies & Procedures

2. CBB Code of Ethics Comply with policies and laws
Act in good faith and with integrity
Act in the best interest of the Board
Limits personal use of CBB facilities or equipment
Prohibits disclosure of confidential information
Prohibits Board members from accepting money or any consideration from those who do business with the Board
Prohibits preferential treatment to organizations or individuals
All members of the Beef Board must sign a CBB Code of Ethics – which is required as part of our Board policies. I won’t read through this entire list, but Charlotte is going to pass out your copies of the form you will be asked to sign, while I go through some of the policies addressed here….
The long and short of it is that we are each accountable for our actions on and in association with the Beef Board, so we must always be on our best behavior, if you will, when we’re representing this Board.
Again, if the Board receives complaints about anyone not adhering to their signed Code of Ethics, it is the Executive Committee that would review and decide on repercussions of the complaint, if determined to be valid.
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3. Setting Policies & Procedures
Considered and approved by the EC, recommended to the Board for approval
Documented in Policies & Procedures of the Board
Available in your Member Toolkit
It is the role of the CBB Executive Committee to consider and approve Board policies and procedures and present them to the full Board as recommendations for their review and approval.
We include these in our formal “Policies & Procedures of the Beef Board” document, which is always available to all Beef Board members via your online Member Toolkit, which you will learn more about later today and which I recommend you all visit regularly to keep track of checkoff administrative and program activities and resources.
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4. In the Board’s Best Interest
“It is the responsibility of Cattlemen’s Beef Board members to act in the best interest of the Board and the beef checkoff program at all times. The Executive Committee shall hear concerns from the industry, should any arise, and take action as it deems necessary, if any member of the Board is acting in opposition to the best interest of the Board or the beef checkoff.”
(Approved March 15, 2012)
Pursuant to the Beef Act and Order and current Beef Board Policies and Procedures, it is the job of every member of the Beef Board to act in the best interest of the Board and the beef checkoff at all times. And if concerns arise in the industry that any member of the Board is not doing so, the CBB Executive Committee will review those concerns and take action, where necessary.
That means that every one of us must always remember that we are not serving here as members of any particular organization, group or state – even though we might be members of many – because here we are members of the Beef Board and administrators of the Beef Checkoff Program, first, foremost, and last…. I can’t emphasize this enough…. (Kim, add from personal experience/your heart here, if you’d like)
…. So let’s talk about some of the specific examples of Beef Board policies…
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5. Policy: Brands & Trade Names
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board is authorized to review and approve activities involving brand or trade named products:
Section (d) of the Beef Promotion and Research Order provides, “In carrying out any plan or project of promotion or advertising implemented by the committee, no reference to a brand or trade name of any beef product shall be made without the approval of the Board and the Secretary….”
As you know, the Beef Checkoff Program promotes beef, in general, as opposed to promoting any particular breed or brand of cattle or products…
That said, the checkoff is authorized to enter into partnerships that use brand and trade-name references – as long as the CBB Executive Committee and USDA approve those uses. In the early days of the checkoff, this wasn’t as common occurrence as it is today, with the universal focus on brands and brand promotion. So as we look to leverage checkoff dollars in beef promotion partnerships whereby the company partnering with the checkoff is investing much, most or even all of the direct costs to promote the beef, we often approve a brand or trade-name in that promotion, as long as the checkoff has no role in selecting or favoring that brand.
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6. Policy: Committee Assignments
Joint Advisory Committee membership will be assigned by the officers of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.
(Approved on March 15, 2012)
As for checkoff committee assignments, we approved policy last year officially granting that responsibility to the officer team of the Beef Board – including the chairman, vice chairman, secretary/treasurer and immediate past chairman.
Of course, before we sit down to make the Beef Board appointments to those committees, we asked every Beef Board member to send us their top picks for committees on which they’d like to serve. The officer team does its best to give people the assignments of their choice, but also has to take into account things like geographic distribution and number of people wanting on the committee.
With more than a hundred assignments to make, it’s a big job and takes careful effort to try to build the strongest possible producer leadership teams. Separately, the Federation of State Beef Councils appoints its share of members to the committees, as well, and we don’t have input on that portion…. but we bring them all together in the end.
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7. Policy: CBB Member Terms
In order to provide an orderly transition of member representation, Board members who have terms expiring shall serve until the conclusion of the annual meeting or until the Secretary of Agriculture appoints new members following the annual meeting. Incoming members shall be seated as soon as outgoing members’ terms end.
(Approved February 3, 2012)
Here’s a policy that the Beef Board changed, I think for the better, last year. While we used to have new members be seated to start their terms at the end of the winter convention, we now have new members starting at the summer meeting.
That gives outgoing members, whose terms are expiring in a given year, an opportunity to vote at winter convention on issues they’ve been working on in their committees and as a member of the Board, and then gives new members like you a fresh start in the summer, leaving time for a solid orientation like this and “gearing up”, if you will, during the spring. We believe this will not only increase our efficiency by reducing the number of folks we send to annual convention, but also give all of you, as new members, more opportunity to learn and prepare before throwing you into voting positions on topics with which you’re not familiar.
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8. Policy: Sexual Harassment
The Board takes sexual harassment very seriously
Defines sexual harassment and repercussions of such harassment for Board members
Determines procedure for investigating complaints, and disallows retaliation
And like virtually all organizations in this day and age, the Beef Board must have a policy regarding sexual harassment – and this applies to every member of the Beef Board. Because we have a pretty tight-knit “family” of cattle producers in this country, it’s important that we remember to practice proper professional behavior in all areas, including this one….
With that in mind, the Board takes sexual harassment seriously, and it is this committee that is responsible for reviewing and responding to any associated concerns or complaints if we receive them about members of the Beef Board, so be sure to read your policy manual carefully and know the guidelines.
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9. Other CBB Policies Nominating Committee procedures
Communications Devices
Fiduciary Responsibility of Board Members
Producer Communications
Reimbursement of expenses
Service to other organizations
Whistleblower
And others
Those are a few of the policy highlights, and up here are a few more topics on which we have policies but don’t have time to go through. That’s why it is just so important that you familiarize yourself with all of these things from the member handbook that you received in your new-member packets.
We’re going to move on now to some information about the state/national checkoff partnership between the Beef Board and State Beef Councils….
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