Beef Board Names New Officers

CENTENNIAL, CO – Cattle producers Chuck Coffey, Jared Brackett and Hugh Sanburg are the new leaders of the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board or better known as the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB). This officer team is responsible for guiding the national Beef Checkoff program throughout 2019.

Coffey, Brackett and Sanburg were elected unanimously by their fellow Beef Board members during the 2019 Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans on Friday, February 1, 2019. Coffey will now serve as the CBB’s chairman, while Brackett will transition from his role as the 2018 secretary/treasurer to vice chair. Sanburg is the newest member of the officer team – taking on Brackett’s former responsibilities as secretary/treasurer.

The CBB’s new chair, Chuck Coffey, is a fifth-generation rancher who grew up on a ranch in the hill country of Harper, Texas. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in range science from Texas A & M. After completing his master’s degree in 1985, Coffey taught agriculture at Murray State College in Tishomingo, Oklahoma, eventually chairing the department until 1993 when he joined the Noble Foundation as a pasture and range consultant. Today, Coffey and his wife operate a cow-calf operation with approximately 1,000 head of cattle near Springer, Oklahoma.

“I’ve been active in the cattle business most of my life,” Coffey said. “As I look forward to the year ahead, I truly believe that cattle producers have numerous reasons to be optimistic. As the CBB’s new chair, I plan to work closely with our officer team and do everything I can to successfully guide the checkoff as it continues to pursue its primary mission: increasing beef demand worldwide.”

Vice chair Jared Brackett is a fifth-generation cow-calf producer from Filer, Idaho. Brackett is a Texas A & M alum and die-hard Aggie fan with a degree in agriculture economics. A past president of the Idaho Cattlemen’s Association, Brackett continues to serve on a number of other livestock committees and boards in addition to his responsibilities with the Beef Checkoff program.

The CBB’s new secretary/treasurer, Hugh Sanburg, hails from Eckert, Colorado, where he is a managing partner with his brother, of their primarily Horned Hereford cow-calf operation, accompanied by a Registered Hereford operation to compliment the commercial herd. Sanburg graduated from Colorado School of Mines with a degree in mining engineering in 1983 before moving back to the home ranch in western Colorado. For the past 30 years, Sanburg has been an active member of the Colorado Farm Bureau serving on various boards. He is also a member of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and serves as chairman of the Gunnison Basin Roundtable.

“We have a tremendously talented and dedicated group of individuals leading the CBB throughout 2019,” said Joan Ruskamp, past chairman of the board. “Chuck, Jared and Hugh personally understand the challenges that producers and other beef industry investors have today, but they also clearly see the many opportunities that lie ahead. I’m certain that they’ll work very hard to help the Beef Checkoff achieve new levels of success this year.”