2005 News Archive
BEEF DEMAND CLIMBS NEARLY EIGHT PERCENT IN 2004
SAN ANTONIO (Feb. 2, 2005) – Consumer demand for beef jumped sharply in 2004, with the Beef Demand Index climbing 7.74 percent compared to 2003 and more than 25 percent since reversing its 20-year decline in 1998, Cattlemen’s Beef Board Chairman Nelson Curry announced at the Cattle Industry Annual Convention here today.
“We knew it was a strong year for beef but these preliminary numbers for the demand index really surpass even our most optimistic expectations,” said Curry, a cattleman from Paris, Ky. “With this continued strength, we’ve far exceeded the goal of the beef industry’s Long Range Plan to increase demand by 6 percent between 2000 and year-end 2004, with demand during that period up an astonishing 17.65 percent.”
Cattle-Fax estimates that the increase in demand since 1998 has added about $22/cwt to the price of fed cattle. That means fed cattle that averaged $84.50/cwt in 2004 would have sold for more like $62.50/cwt if not for the tremendous increase in demand.
Curry said he is particularly pleased with the demand results in light of all the challenges that the beef industry faced in 2004 – beginning the year just days after a single case of BSE was found in the United States . Further, he said, it points up the value of being able to provide accurate, science-based information about the safety of the U. S. beef supply.
“Producers should be proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish in the face of so many challenges,” Curry said. “If we can continue to build demand, we will be better off as cattlemen than we would be if demand were not growing – regardless of other market forces that are outside the realm of the checkoff mandate.”
The Beef Demand Index is calculated based on a series of formulas developed and monitored by Dr. Wayne Purcell, director of the Research Institute on Livestock Pricing through Virginia Tech University ’s department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. The index reflects several specific factors, including per capita consumption and consumer spending for beef.
The strength of the Beef Demand Index in 2004 certainly is an indicator that the industry is on the right track, Curry said. But there is no room for complacency.
“The news on demand has been good, for sure, but those of us who are passionate about the beef industry want to see that index remain on its upward trend, and that means continued diligence in checkoff program areas such as youth education, beef safety, nutrition and promotion,” he said. “To accomplish these priorities, we absolutely have to work together as producers. This week’s Cattle Industry Annual Convention provides a terrific opportunity to get together and focus on our common goal – a beef industry that we can be proud to pass on to future generations.”
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.