Last updated on September 7th, 2012 at 10:00 am
Polly Ruhland was named CEO of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, the Centennial-based organization announced Sept. 20.
Ruhland has filled the position on an interim basis since the resignation in late June of Tom Ramey.
She joined the Cattlemen’s Beef Board in early 2010 as director of evaluation. Ruhland’s spent more than 20 years in the beef industry, including six years with the National Cattleman’s Beef Association.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from University of Colorado and a master’s degree in agriculture, with an emphasis in beef industry leadership, from Colorado State University.
The board, which is formally known as the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, administers the national beef checkoff program, which assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle. States get 50 cents and the other half goes to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board. The program was established as part of the 1985 farm bill.
“The opportunity to serve farmers and ranchers in this way is an unparalleled honor,” Ruhland said in a statement. “I am committed to working every hour of every day to promote beef through the unique cooperation and coordination offered by the beef checkoff program.”
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, which is also based in Centennial, jointly promote the consumption of beef. The two groups are behind the advertising campaign “Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.”
