The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association plans to hire Colin Woodall as its new CEO and move Ethan Lane to Woodall’s former role as the organization’s vice president of government affairs, giving the nation’s largest beef industry group two familiar faces in new roles.
In his new role, Woodall will add the organization’s checkoff, communications, and beef promotion efforts to the policy portfolio he has helped to push since first joining NCBA’s Washington office in 2004. Lane, who has been the executive director of the Public Lands Council and headed up NCBA’s natural resources issues, will transition into a broader range of issues
In a statement, Woodall, a Texas native and Texas A&M grad, said he was “thankful for the opportunity to lead NCBA.”
“American beef producers are the best people I know and although our industry faces many challenges, I am confident we can overcome them,” Woodall said in a statement announcing the changes.
Woodall takes the place of Kendal Frazier, a 34-year NCBA veteran who announced his plans to retire earlier this year.
NCBA President Jennifer Houston said Woodall’s previous experience was a major factor in his selection.
“Colin’s passion for the beef community has made him one of the most effective advocates in American agriculture and I’m excited that he will now be applying that same passion to the work NCBA is conducting on behalf of the Beef Checkoff,” she said.
Woodall takes the helm at a critical time for NCBA as the group looks to pass a number of its important policy issues in Washington and achieve stability in the cattle markets after a recent fire at a Tyson facility in Kansas sent shockwaves through the beef value chain.
Ethan Lane, NCBA
Aside from the policy efforts which Woodall is known around Washington for championing, NCBA is also the largest contractor every year to the beef checkoff, and just this week was allocated more than $27 million by the Checkoff Beef Board for five proposals in the checkoff’s 2020 fiscal year.
Lane boasts 18 years of experience working on natural resources and land use issues, splitting that time between NCBA and PLC as well as operating his own consulting firm. In a separate release from PLC, Lane said he expects “absolutely no disruption to operations” during the transition to his new role.
“For my part, I am not even planning to change offices during this transition. In other words, I’m taking on new responsibilities but I’m not going anywhere,” he said.
Woodall, however, is. He plans to relocate to Denver to serve in the new role.
The changes take effect at the beginning of October.
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