O.D. Cope, Missouri
O.D. Cope is a third-generation cattleman from the Ozarks of Missouri, where he and his family run a commercial cow/calf operation and also background calves. O.D. feels the beef checkoff provides a great service for him as “the watchdog for the industry” that safeguards beef’s reputation on a daily basis. “I can’t run my ranch here and also speak to all of the issues facing our industry. The beef checkoff does this for me.
“The beef checkoff does a tremendous job of monitoring issues and responding with science-based, factual information that helps safeguard demand for our product,” he explains. A great example of this response was the BSE case in 2004, where, “due to the quick and thorough response of the checkoff team, our national consumption of beef did not decline dramatically.”
O.D. sees this type of rapid, factual response to industry issues as just another way the beef checkoff serves farmers and ranchers who pay the $1-per-head checkoff. “We can’t individually promote and defend our industry, but collectively we can through our beef checkoff.”
Click here to listen to O.D. talk about the importance of the beef checkoff to the beef industry.
Funded by the Beef Checkoff.
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