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15 ways to Mark the 15th Anniversary of the Beef Checkoff program -- October 1, 2001

DENVER, Colo. (September 28, 2001) – The beef industry set many goals for promoting beef demand when it launched the $1-per-head national beef checkoff program 15 years ago. And while many in the industry were excited about the new program, nobody in October 1986 knew what heights the checkoff might reach.

“Now, with a 15-year track record for all to see, we can reflect on what the checkoff has done for the beef industry,” said Dan Hammond, chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board and a beef producer from American Falls, Idaho.

 The national beef checkoff program is administered by the Beef Board, which contracts with national producer-controlled organizations to develop promotional programs funded through the checkoff.  

“Producers have invested a great deal in the future of their industry through their checkoff dollars,” said Hammond. “They are entitled to know exactly what their checkoff program has done for them.”

  Hammond said beef demand has now increased 10 of the past 12 quarters, after nearly two decades of decline. He said the increase has occurred at the same time supplies have been at record highs, signaling a true turn-around in demand. Cattle-Fax estimates that increased 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 accomplishments of the checkoff could fill a book,” Hammond said, but in recognition of the 15^th anniversary of the program, he listed 15 of them:

• Food safety – More than $12 million has been spent in the past five years alone on research, leading to such results as a 99.75 percent reduction in microbial plate counts and a 99.55 percent reduction in E. coli counts on carcasses;
• Nutrition and health – Modern beef is now lower in fat and has been shown to be higher in essential nutrients and lower in calories and cholesterol, thanks in part to checkoff research, which has also revealed other health attributes of beef;
• Convenience and value – Beef is easier to prepare and more convenient, creating marketing opportunities for new beef products such as “Ground Beef Crumbles;” more than 50 branded products now carry the beef “Mark of Quality;”
• Channel marketing – The checkoff uses new technology and programs to help retailers sell more beef and make shopping for beef easier for consumers; nearly 10,000 stores are participating in “Beef Made Easy^TM” meat case management;
• Exports – Checkoff programs are in place to take advantage of the huge growth potential for U.S. beef products in the world market; record-level exports are up 325 percent in volume and 393 percent in value since the checkoff began;
• Youth education – On average, 3-4 million American youth are being reached each year with checkoff-funded educational materials;
• Veal – A sizeable and coordinated veal promotion program didn’t exist until the checkoff, which is using research and education to help consumers understand the industry, and promotions to help move millions of pounds of veal;
• Beef Quality Assurance – The industry strives to set standards to improve beef consistency and competitiveness -- choice and prime carcasses rose 3 percent from 1995 to 2000, and fat thickness is vastly below what it was 10 years ago;
• Advertising – According to research, the highly recognizable “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner®” campaign continues to reach more than 80 percent of its target audience – hundreds of millions of consumers since the program began;
• Foodservice – Seeking to put more beef on more restaurant menus, the industry partners with companies like Taco Bell and its Grilled Steak promotion, which sold more than 2 million pounds of beef during the first two weeks;
• Health Influencer Partnerships – The industry has teamed up with many health organizations like the American Dietetic Association, and has established a team of women’s health experts to deliver credible, nutrition messages about beef;
• Issues management – The industry works for high levels of consumer confidence in beef; at the height of the publicity about cattle-related diseases outside the U.S., consumer confidence in U.S. beef stood strong at 85 percent;
• Instrument grading – Checkoff-funded research helped support development of instrument grading systems that may help predict quality, cutability and tenderness of beef carcasses;
• Food communications – Beef promotions, recipes, and articles promote beef demand to media. As a result, in 2000, nearly 7,000 placements were made in publications and on television, with a total reach of as many as 1.1 billion;
• Under-utilized cuts – New products, recipes and marketing techniques have been introduced to add value to under-utilized cuts of beef, like the chuck and the round, which previously were pulling down the value of the total carcass.

“The past 15 years of the checkoff program have shown us results in areas we have focused on, such as food safety, new products, overall carcass value, and much more,” said Hammond. “Beef producers can be proud of their legacy of hard work and dedication. Through their checkoff they can work for continued  progress over the next 15 years.”

The Cattlemen`s Beef Board`s 110-member board is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee the collection of the $1-per-head checkoff, certify state beef councils, implement the provisions of the federal order establishing the checkoff and evaluate the effectiveness of checkoff programs.

Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen`s Beef Association 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.

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Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen`s Beef Association 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.