Building beef demand by inspiring, unifying and supporting an effective and coordinated state and national Checkoff partnership.
For more than 60 years, grassroots producer engagement has driven the demand for beef through the Federation of State Beef Councils. States voluntarily invest in the Federation to build beef demand by inspiring, unifying and supporting an effective and coordinated state and national Checkoff partnership. Ultimately, it is cattle producers from coast to coast who direct the Federation’ s work, and we celebrate their dedication. These are the“ Faces of the Federation.”
Russ Uselton, Region II Federation Vice President Uselton Farm, Shelbyville, Tennessee
Russ Uselton is a commercial cow-calf producer in central Tennessee. Farming full time for more than 15 years, he started from scratch, purchasing a couple heifers and growing his business slowly over time. Located only an hour south of Nashville, Uselton’ s farm is in the epicenter of development with growth encroaching all around. He is eager to share information about the industry with consumers and producers alike. Uselton serves as the Region II Federation vice president and sits on the Nutrition & Health Checkoff Committee.
How does the Federation of State Beef Councils impact the beef industry?
The Federation of State Beef Councils gives cattle producers a seat at the table. The Beef Checkoff is producer-led, period. Everything starts and ends with producers. It’ s amazing what the collective effort of state beef councils can accomplish. You’ ve got a lot of shared resources and common messages, and the Federation can accomplish a lot of things that individual state beef councils may or may not be able to do on their own. The Checkoff collection amount is actually very small in the grand scheme of things, so the state beef councils have to take every opportunity to be as efficient as possible in order to stretch those dollars out as far as they can go, and the Federation helps us do that. What are some of the benefits of investing in the Federation?
One specific program that had a huge impact on Tennessee was an advertising campaign with a big box store. It was a shared resource campaign, which aired across the country. We partnered with other states and the Federation to make it happen; it’ s something our state couldn’ t have done on our own. This campaign generated 52 million impressions and more than $ 10 million in beef sales. If that’ s not an example of your money being spent efficiently, I don’ t know what is.
Why do you think the Federation continues to be vital?
Every single industry on the planet has some sort of marketing department. As a producer, I don’ t have a marketing department, and no other producers I know have one either. The Checkoff is working for us, doing the research, doing the marketing, making sure our product gets consumed as far and as wide as possible. The Federation is a big part of those efforts, and it continues to be vital. What is the most important message you’ d like to share about the Federation and the Beef Checkoff?
Cattle producers from across the country are leading the Checkoff and the Federation, and we are making the decisions. The other important point is that the Beef Checkoff is a cost recovery program. There’ s not an open checkbook writing checks for the Beef Checkoff. In order to receive Checkoff funds, contractors must first present a proposal that’ s actually worthy of funding. They have to do the work, then they have to prove that they completed the work they said they were going to do. Then they get reimbursed. That’ s one point that I can’ t stress enough.
18 JUNE 2025 www. NCBA. org