2005 News Archive
Annual Report Highlights Research Funded by Beef Checkoff
Editor’s note: For copies of Building Demand through Research, please contact staff members listed. The report is also available on line at: http://www.beefboard.org/documents/Research%20Annual%20Report.pdf or http://www.beef.org/documents/03annual.pdf
Details of recently conducted beef checkoff-funded research studies are now available in a comprehensive annual report. The report, Building Demand through Research, highlights key findings in ongoing research projects regarding beef safety, nutrition, marketing, product development and product enhancement. These checkoff-funded research projects were initiated on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). The NCBA serves as one of the Beef Board’s contractors for checkoff-funded programs.
Research targeting methods of improving beef safety and consumer confidence, developing more convenient beef products, identifying beef’s nutritional benefits, and marketing previously underutilized beef cuts are particularly important in boosting beef demand and improving profit opportunities for cattle producers, according to Roger West, a Florida cow-calf producer and current chair of the Joint Research and Knowledge Management Committee.
“There’s little question that research has provided us with critical tools to use that help improve both consumer acceptance of, and demand for, beef,” says West. “That’s why beef producers, through our Beef Checkoff Program, have made research a high priority in demand-building programs directed toward consumers.”
Specific topics examined in detail in Building Demand through Research include:
- Efforts to eliminate E. coli O157:H7 from beef carcasses
- Methods to protect and ensure beef tenderness
- Updated research regarding the nutrient composition and density of beef
- Retail introduction of Beef Value Cuts resulting from muscle profiling research
- Market research measuring results of checkoff-funded foodservice programs
In addition to identifying and examining critical, consumer-oriented issues, the cooperative partnership between beef producers and research institutions is also a key to effective and successful industry research.
“The producer committees that have overseen these efforts have done a tremendous job in helping provide direction to researchers and assuring that the needs of the beef industry are being met,” West said. “The researchers at these universities and institutions are the best of the best, and I have been honored to watch them work to find answers to the challenges faced by beef producers.”
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 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. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the program was approved by 79 percent of producers in a 1988 national referendum vote. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.
Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the NCBA is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.