Mike Holden of Scranton has been appointed to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board (CBB). The CBB is responsible for guiding the national Beef Checkoff Program.
Holden operates a third-generation farm that produces corn and soybeans as well as a cow/calf herd located in West Central Iowa. The Holdens retain their own replacement females, sell some heifers, sell a few bulls and market calves direct to end consumers via their small private-label meat company.
“I’m eager to help promote and oversee the funding paths that will drive beef demand and educate consumers about the beef industry,” Holden said. “We have a great product and a caring and sustainable industry whose story needs to continually be told. If we aren’t telling our story, then others will do it for us. We must capitalize on the opportunity to share the truth about the beef industry whenever we can.”
Holden recently retired from his local county cattlemen’s board where he served for more than 30 years. He also served a one-year term on the state board of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association. Holden has been a member of the Iowa Beef Industry Council for the past five years and has served as that organization’s representative on the United States Meat Export Federation’s (USMEF) board for the past three years. He is also a member of the Greene County and Iowa Farm Bureau as well as the Iowa Corn Growers and Iowa Soybean associations.
“We’re very pleased to have Mike as a member of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board,” said Norman Voyles, Jr., 2022 CBB chair. “He has a long history of involvement in his state and local community, and he understands the need to keep working toward a better future for the beef industry and the producers who make it all possible. We look forward to his ideas and feedback as we continue driving beef demand.”
The CBB consists of 101 members, including domestic beef, dairy and veal producers, as well as importers of beef and beef products. Producer representation on the Board is based on cattle inventory in each state while importer representation is based on a conversion of the volume of imports into live animal equivalencies. Each Beef Board member is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture from nominations submitted by certified nominating organizations that represent beef and dairy producers in each state or region. Importer appointments are chosen from nominations by importer associations.
