04/13/11 jgm

HAYS, Kan. -- Dr. Brittany Howell, associate professor of agriculture at Fort Hays State University, was recently appointed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to a three-year term on the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board. The board oversees administration of the national Beef Checkoff Program.

The Beef Checkoff Program, established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill, assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents and forward the other 50 cents to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board.

Howell participated in new-member orientation in January in Denver and was seated for her first meeting of the full Beef Board at the Cattle Industry Annual Convention in February in Denver, becoming one of 106 producers and importers nationwide representing all cattlemen by making recommendations about how to invest national beef checkoff dollars.

Howell was nominated to the Beef Board by the Kansas Livestock Association, the Kansas Cattlemen's Association, the Kansas Dairy Association and the Kansas Farm Bureau. At FHSU, she is an advisor and national officer for the Block and Bridle Club and serves on various university committees.

The Cattlemen's Beef Board's purpose is to build demand for beef through promotion, research and information programs through the national Beef Checkoff Program.

For more information about the Cattlemen's Beef Board and the Beef Checkoff Program, visit the Beef Checkoff program website www.MyBeefCheckoff.com.