Contact:	(303) 220-9890	beefboard@beef.org

STATEMENT Regarding The Delivery Of Petitions Requesting A Beef Checkoff Referendum

USDA has informed us that it has received petitions calling for a beef checkoff referendum. Seventy-nine percent of beef producers voted in a national referendum to put the beef checkoff into effect. Our independent research, which we conduct twice annually, continues to indicate that two out of three producers still support the program. The Beef Promotion and Research Act, however, provides that the Secretary of Agriculture may call for a new referendum when at least 10% of beef producers sign a petition. USDA requires all signatures be gathered within a one-year period. A vote resulting from this process is up or down only – either ending the program in six months or continuing it unchanged. We expect USDA to thoroughly review the petitions submitted to assure all beef producers that those who signed petitions were qualified cattlemen who knew what they were signing.

Meanwhile, 111 Beef Board members – 104 of them beef producers like me – will continue to represent cattlemen, oversee the program and work continuously to improve it. In 1999, we sought industry input and began the process of changing how the beef checkoff is managed. Two of these recommended changes – which could be carried forward by the Cattlemen's Beef Board itself – are already in the rule-making process at USDA. Another recommendation, a mandatory checkoff paid by packers on all cattle slaughtered, has been suggested to appropriate separate industry organizations that may conduct lobbying efforts, which the Beef Board cannot.

The one-dollar beef checkoff program continues to be fair, state-based, producer controlled, accountable and – most important – we believe it works for the industry. This fall, fed cattle topped $71 per hundredweight, and both fed and feeder prices have been higher. Why? Consumers are buying beef at steady to slightly higher prices despite record-high beef supplies (USDA average retail beef prices are up 4 cents per pound from one year ago, while beef supplies are expected to be 2.5% above 1998). Many industry experts are predicting that beef demand may be turning around after a 20-year slide. The checkoff isn’t responsible for all factors involved – but it acts as a catalyst for positive, long-term change.

More than eighty percent of our fiscal year 2000 checkoff budget is focused on convenience, nutrition, safety and foreign market promotion. Here are a few examples of what cattlemen are getting from their checkoff:

• The checkoff-funded program for food editors generated nearly 8,000 articles in newspapers and magazines in FY 1999 with a total circulation of about 1.2 billion.
• New convenience “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner” advertising started in October by targeting modern “moms” on a mix of network and cable TV and local radio in 23 markets. The nutrition portion of the campaign will launch in magazines in January 2000 and reach 93% of targeted women in its first burst.
• Research reported this past year showed that beef plays an important role in child health (zinc’s role in cognitive development); may play a role in cancer prevention and diabetes treatment (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) and is effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels (the “Parity” study reported in the AMA Archives of Internal Medicine and by the media to more than 200 million consumers).
• "Multiple hurdle" food safety efforts have significantly reduced E. coli O157:H7 threat.  Packers implementing checkoff-developed pathogen-reducing technologies can decrease incidence of E. coli O157:H7 on carcasses by 99.55%.

• Beef exports reached the 1 million metric ton level this year for first time. Despite financial turmoil in Asian countries, exports of U.S. beef show tremendous strength due in part to checkoff-funded efforts to raise awareness of the quality, safety and appropriateness of U.S. beef. Most importantly, 80% of our exports are chuck, round and variety meats.

Our beef checkoff dollars made these and other elements of long-term positive change possible for the beef industry. While USDA deals with the petitions delivered to it, the Cattlemen's Beef Board will continue to maintain its focus on these demand-building programs.