ABP still wasting checkoff dollars

[grassfarmer]

What a model of incompetence - I received in the mail today (September 5th)the letter from Erik Butters with his take on the ALMS and under separate cover the latest "grass routes" with it's appeal for ABP delegates timed, the same as last year, to arrive in our mail boxes a week after nominations closed. I'm not sure if this really is just incompetence or the first stage in the ABP "democratic process" ie delegate pre-selection by being limited to the old boys network. Either way I think if a producer wanted to be sticky about it we could call this nomination process null and void as proper notice was not served.
And what is with this "promotion manager" on the front cover? Why are we paying a large wage to someone to perpetuate the stereotype of a dumb, rude, burping rancher in a childish attempt to convey to producers the concept of the ABP's new marketing initiative? Newsflash - we are adults, usually with multi million dollar investments in our livestock operations we do not need to be treated like five year olds.
The sooner this organisation loses it's levy funding the better - we cannot go on wasting money like this at a time when producers need leadership.

[blackjack]

i had the exact thoughts...handed it to my wife and she replied...this is what we spend three dollars a head for...no wonder there are so many people in our industry that are getting out...

[per]

Yep, that was quite the article. The sooner we can direct our checkoff the better.

[loric]

We at ABP are as mad as you guys are about Grass Routes geting out when it did. We are working back on timelines as it was send to the printers August 12th and should have been in people's hands at least a week before the nomination deadline. It goes from the printers to the mailing house to Canada Post and we are trying to find out what happened. In the entire time I've been with ABP - it has never, ever been that late after it left our hands. When I find out where it was held up - I'll let you know.

As far as advertising the nomination deadlines - ABP is required to advertise. We did four Cattle Countries with Jim Fisher, two weeks of ads in the Western Producer and in Cattlemen Magazine.

[loric]

And forgot to add it was also on several weekly updates that are sent out via email and of course advertised on the Alberta Beef Producer homepage for a couple months.

[per]

Did you read the story on the front page Lori? Is that the image that the ABP wants to portray about cattle producer? Is that how Barb Sweetland thinks we are like? No wonder it came late, the printer probably read it and thought it was a mistake.