Committed to Service: From Navy Diver to CBB Board Member
In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board would like to thank veterans for serving our country and helping to preserve our freedom. One hero we would like to recognize is Cattlemen’s Beef Board member Steve Hobbs from Great Falls, Montana. Steve joined the Navy in 1979 and served as a third-class petty officer. He began his journey working in the engine room of a destroyer ship and then trained as a Navy diver.
“I am blessed to experience the time I was at sea. At the time, I spent over a thousand days at sea and saw some of the most amazing storms, sunrises and sunsets, lived and worked with amazing men, had moments of sheer terror and days of exhaustion,” Hobbs said. “My service has never left me and has changed me for the better and the worst.”
The Beef Checkoff program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff 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 may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
