Norman Voyles Jr. of Martinsville received an important appointment from then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack before he resigned in January. Voyles was appointed to serve on the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board. He will be officially sworn in during an orientation meeting of the board this summer.

“It’s a great honor, and I’m excited to serve in this capacity,” Voyles told fellow cattle producers at a meeting of the Morgan County Beef Cattle Association recently. He and his brother raise cattle and farm outside of Martinsville. He received congratulations from members attending the local meeting.

Voyles explained that the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board is responsible for making sure beef checkoff dollars contributed by cattle producers under a national checkoff program are being spent properly. He added that the board has input into how resources are spent on marketing, and on efforts to develop new markets for beef and beef products. 

BEEF INDUSTRY LEADER: Norman Voyles Jr.,
Martinsville, will help monitor how national
beef checkoff money is spent over the next
three years.

Voyles is one of 100 cattle farmers appointed to the board. Serving as Indiana’s representative, he replaces Don Gurtner, Fremont, who completed two three-year terms. Gurtner, a dairyman, was named an Indiana Master Farmer in 1996. Voyles' father, Norman Voyles Sr., was named a Master Farmer in 2001. The Master Farmer program is co-sponsored by Indiana Prairie Farmer and the Purdue University College of Agriculture.

The board was authorized by the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985. There are 21 other industry-funded research and development boards authorized by Congress. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service provides oversight, paid for by industry assessments, for these boards.

Voyles Jr. was one of 39 appointments nationwide made by Vilsack to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board before he left office. The board meets several times during the year to conduct business.