Veal Publicity Bandwagon Continues to Roll

DENVER (August 10, 2004) – A substantial amount of publicity for veal has been generated since Oct. 1, 2003 as a result of checkoff investments in the veal promotion program. The Joint Veal Committee will review successes for its fiscal year to date when it meets at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference in Denver this week.

This level of publicity may mean more profitability for dairy producers because it increases demand for male calves, says Ohio veal producer Betty McCullough, chairman of the Joint Veal Committee. Hundreds of thousands of formula-fed calves were purchased by veal producers last year, resulting in millions of dollars of direct payments to dairy producers. Veal producers also pay the diary industry millions of dollars for dairy ingredients to feed to their animals, helping support dairy prices.

“The $1-per-head checkoff provides wonderful opportunities to showcase and promote veal,” McCullough says. “For example, veal has been on three national television segments since the beginning of the fiscal year, with another one scheduled for next week.”

Last December, veal was showcased on the Fox and Friends National Morning Show by Chef Tom Valenti, who presented a “Holiday Entertaining” segment to an estimated 2 million viewers.The following month Chef Valenti entertained an estimated 6.6 million viewers with “Low Fat, Low Cost Meals After the Holidays” on The Today Show. In March, Chef David Burke also appeared on The Today Show in a segment on Passover and Easter meals.

On Aug. 20, Fox & Friends National Morning Show will feature a “grill-off” between four chefs: David Burke, Waldy Malouf, David Rosengarten and Stanley Lobel. This program is an extension of the Veal Tableside Kitchen Visit event held on June 10.

About 15.2 million viewers have been reached with these televised veal messages, and another 2 million will be reached as a result of the Aug. 20 program.

Veal print coverage in both foodservice trade and consumer food publications also continues to soar. For example, Chef Magazine recently featured a cover story on the veal sausage pizza from Chef John Coletta; Restaurant Hospitality ran a full-page photo and recipe of the same veal pizza, and in a different issue featured a veal barbecued brisket photo and recipe; Culinary Review ran an article on beef and veal featuring Chef David Burke’s veal filet on the bone with candied lemon sauce; Restaurant Business published an article on “The Veal Deal” with multiple recipes and photos; and Restaurants & Institutions recently featured veal on the cover and published a substantial article on veal.

Increasing veal demand is the mission of the Joint Veal Committee, and a crucial aspect of the checkoff program, says McCullough. On behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils through the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the committee has noted that fiscal year 2003 public relations coverage would have cost nearly $2.4 million had it been purchased as advertising.

“The type of editorial coverage made possible by the checkoff is often seen as more credible than regular advertising would be,” says McCollough. “The veal industry is small, but we work hard to increase awareness and sales of our product.”