2001 News Archive
FISCAL 2002 CHECKOFF PLAN OF WORK APPROVED
DENVER, COLO (Oct. 1, 2001) – The Beef Promotion Operating Committee last week approved a comprehensive $43,056,000 checkoff-funded promotion, research and information program for fiscal year 2002, which begins today. The program is built around the key consumer purchase drivers of convenience, nutrition and food safety.
“Approval of this plan of work is the culmination of a year-long planning process that included input from hundreds of state and national-level volunteers who have a stake in the success of the beef industry,” said Dan Hammond, an Idaho beef producer and chair of the Operating Committee. Hammond, who also chairs the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, said that beef demand has now increased 10 of the past 12 quarters, after nearly 20 years of decline. He said the increase has occurred at the same time supplies have been at record high levels, which signals a true turn-around in demand.
The Operating Committee was created by the Beef Promotion and Research Act to bring state and national beef checkoff dollars together into a coordinated national program. Ten of its members are elected by and represent the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, while its 10 other members are selected by state beef councils to represent them. The Operating Committee approves checkoff program plans and contractors.
“The beef checkoff program is 15 years old this October,” said Hammond. “Over the years, volunteer leaders have honed the planning and prioritization process to maximize producer investments in checkoff-funded demand-building efforts.” He said estimates by Cattle-Fax show the increase in beef demand the last three years has added $100 per head to the price of fed cattle and $16-18 per hundredweight to the price of a 500-pound steer.
The checkoff plan of work approved by the Operating Committee for fiscal year 2002 includes:
· Promotion efforts totaling $24,285,000, including consumer advertising carrying both a convenience and a nutrition message, beef and veal promotional efforts with leading restaurant chains, and marketing efforts aimed at moving more beef and veal tonnage through the supermarket meat case.
· Research totaling $5,362,000 including funding for projects aimed at improving beef safety and product satisfaction.
· Consumer information programs totaling $5,500,000 aimed at improving the image of beef through work with health organizations, food writers and other media, as well as youth education and public relations efforts carrying a message of beef’s wholesomeness and appeal to kids.
· Industry information programs totaling $1,854,000 aimed at enhancing the image of the cattle industry and working to manage issues that may negatively impact the marketing climate for beef, such as media coverage of the foreign animal diseases BSE and FMD.
· Foreign marketing efforts totaling $4,555,000, which are to be leveraged with USDA foreign marketing service funds to continue development of new markets for U.S. beef in markets such as Japan, Korea, Mexico, Hong Kong/China, Russia, and the Caribbean.
· Producer communications totaling $1,500,000 to provide information to producers who pay the checkoff about how their dollars are being invested and what the results of those investments are.
Programs authorized by the Operating Committee must now be approved by USDA before work can begin. Cattlemen's Beef Board contractors must work on a cost recovery basis. They may not profit from the work they do on behalf of the CBB.
The national beef checkoff is administered by the Beef Board, a 110-member board appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee the collection of the checkoff, certify state beef councils, implement the provisions of the Federal order establishing the checkoff and evaluate the effectiveness of checkoff programs. Funds are spent in the areas of promotion, research and information to increase demand for beef and veal.
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Created by the Beef Promotion and Research Act, the Operating Committee reviews and approves national checkoff programs and contracts with national industry-governed organizations to implement programs. It consists of 20 volunteers who pay the checkoff. Ten represent the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board and 10 represent the Federation of State Beef Councils.
Checkoff programs are conducted on a cost-recovery basis only, with contractors not profiting from work they do on behalf of the beef checkoff.