08/27/08 Dairy beef producers

Colorado dairyman Les Hardesty says the beef and dairy checkoffs need to come together with one common goal and one common vision. Hardesty is chairman of the National Dairy Board and a US Meat Export Federation member who believes that the beef and dairy checkoffs will help sustain agriculture well into the future. HARDESTY "Any ag producers need to work together. There's fewer and fewer of us around the United States. All dairy producers are beef producers and sometimes we forget every pound of beef starts with a momma cow and dairy and so in reality beef producers are dairy producers also." As the industries combine efforts to work toward a Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition plan and national quality assurance programs Hardesty knows that in the end it's the consumer who has the final say. HARDESTY "Animal care, animal welfare, animal well being, both industries are in it together. Both industries have an end goal, a need to be mindful of what our consumer wants." Hardesty says he's recognized the value of the beef checkoff in his own dairy operation whether its in developing new cuts of beef or projects like the Beef Quality Assurance program. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott