|
|
|
|
|
November 3, 2006
The Beef Checkoff Program is celebrating 20 years of programs that have helped build consumer demand for beef. Since its inception on Oct. 1, 1986, the beef checkoff has provided a framework for a coordinated state and national plan in research, information and promotion.
Established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill, the checkoff assesses $1-per-head on the sale of live and imported cattle. The program became mandatory following approval from 79 percent of beef producers in a national referendum. In Texas, there was an 89 percent approval on the vote.
Administered by the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board (Beef Board), with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the beef checkoff process starts at the state level. Qualified state beef councils collect the dollar and retain control of 50 cents for use in-state, while 50 cents is remitted to the national program. More than 600 producers sit on state beef council boards and play a key role in directing state and national programs.
"During its 20 year history, the beef checkoff has experienced numerous accomplishments," said Rosemary Brizendine, TBC chair and beef producer from Winona. "Through creative advertising, direct consumer promotions, development of tasty beef recipes and innovative beef research, the checkoff has contributed to reaching the goal of building beef demand."
The "Beef. It's What's for Dinner" campaign is a prime example. This memorable consumer advertising promotion, complete with the familiar voice of cowboy actor Sam Elliott and Aaron Copeland's captivating Rodeo music, is recognized by more than 80 percent of people surveyed. Additional achievements include the beef quality assurance program, which has helped certify 60,000 producers on herd management practices, as well as the foreign marketing program that saw beef exports triple prior to the 2003 BSE case.
Checkoff-funded nutrition research helped confirm that lean beef packs a punch. Through promotions and partnerships with organizations such as the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association, health influencers and consumers are being made aware of the nutritional benefits of beef. Youth education is also a focus with a checkoff-funded school curriculum, websites and other materials reaching 20 million U.S. young people with the message of beef 's role in a healthy diet.
The checkoff experienced another accomplishment when muscle-profiling research created new products from underutilized muscles in the chuck and round. These products have contributed to a $60 to $70 per-head increase in the chuck since 1998, according to Cattle-Fax.
On the state level, the Texas Beef Council is governed by a 20-member board consisting of individuals from across the state representing various segments of the cattle industry. Checkoff dollars may be invested in areas including promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing or producer information. However, by law, checkoff funds cannot be used to influence government policy or action, including lobbying.
There have been several milestones in the cattle industry within the 20 years of the Beef Checkoff Program. Beef demand is up more than 20 percent between 1998 and year-end 2000. Cattle-Fax estimates that the increase in beef demand since 1998 has added about $250 per head to the prices of fed cattle and about $200 per head to the price of calves. Beef continues to hold its own on the American dinner table and demand remains strong.
"20 for 20"
The Top 20 Accomplishments of the Beef Checkoff
During the Last 20 Years...
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the national Beef Checkoff Program, program representatives set out to identify 20 key checkoff accomplishments that have made a distinct impact on beef demand. Finding them was not a challenge, says Cattlemen's Beef Board Chairman Jay O'Brien, a beef producer from Amarillo. Limiting it to 20, though, was more difficult.
"The programs we've funded to date have built the foundation for the future," says O'Brien. "Research has allowed us to know our product and how to communicate to our consumer. Our promotion and information programs are successful because we have the facts. Through the years, the influence that the entire program has had on how consumers buy and perceive our product has been significant."
O'Brien points to trends in consumer demand as a measure of the program's viability. After nearly 20 years of decline, demand turned the corner in 1998, and despite a small decline in 2005, has maintained a sharp upward trend, advancing more than 20 percent since 1998. Independent research has also shown that for every dollar invested, the checkoff returns an estimated $4.90 to cattle producers.
"As we look back to identify accomplishments over the life of the current checkoff program, it really does appear program achievements are the result of 20/20 vision on the part of its creators," O'Brien says. "Our job today is to build on this foundation and grow demand."
• Beef. It's What's for Dinner. Consumer advertisting has made beef even more memorable. Research shows that more than 80 percent of people surveyed recognize the "Beef. It's What's For Dinner" ads, with the familiar voice of cowboy actor Sam Elliott, backed by Aaron Copeland's captivating Rodeo music. Some ad campaigns lose their punch after a couple of years, but this one is still running strong on radio and in print after nearly 14 years.
• Beef Nutrition. Checkoff-funded research has confirmed that, calorie for calorie, lean beef packs a punch. A nutrition parity study between beef and chicken revealed that a 3-ounce cut of lean beef has, on average, only one more gram of saturated fat than the same size serving of a skinless chicken breast. That 3-ounce serving of lean beef delivers eight times more vitamin B12, six times more zinc and three times more iron than the chicken. Beef, one of nature's most efficient foods, has been proven effective in aiding weight loss. And 29 beef cuts now meet government guidelines for lean. That's good nutritional news for a country battling obesity.
• Beef Quality Assurance (BQA). This program has helped certify 60,000 producers on herd management practices that can make or break final product quality. BQA information set the quality bar through fed steer/heifer and cow/bull audits, which began to show significant drops in several common areas of pre-harvest injury that can de-value the carcass. Helping producers learn how proper herd management directly impacts the consistency, tenderness and marketability of beef has been a major BQA success. For example, damage from injection site lesions dropped from 22 percent of all top butts to less than 3 percent in recent years. The BQA program also gives producers input from importers, foodservice and retail channels about beef product positives and problems.
• Carcass Value. Checkoff Muscle Profiling research has improved carcass value by creating new products from previously underutilized muscles in the chuck and round. New checkoff-funded products include the Beef Value Cuts, which have contributed to a $60- to $70-per-head increase in the value of the chuck since 1998. Now the Value Cuts, which include the Flat Iron and Ranch Cut steaks, join convenient, heat-and-serve products that help make the most of the beef carcass. And research into even more new products continues.
• Consumer Confidence. BSE made U.S. headlines in late 2003, but thanks in part to beef checkoff-funded efforts, consumers were reassured about the safety of the U.S. beef supply. Information programs helped maintain consumer confidence levels—which rose as high as 91 percent after the first case was discovered in the United States.
• Dairy Coordination. Dairy producers are also beef producers and pay the checkoff, too. So cooperation between the two industries is essential. Dozens of delicious dishes combining beef and dairy appear regularly in checkoff-funded recipe resources, such as beefitswhatsfordinner.com website and The Healthy Beef Cookbook. In 1991, the beef checkoff partnered with the American Dairy Association to promote "Double Cheeseburger Days," a point-of-purchase promotion at 24,000 U.S. retail outlets. Targeting college students and other consumers, this promotion generated $22 million in positive exposure—at a cost to the beef industry of $1.7 million.
• E. coli O157:H7. The U.S. beef industry has invested more than $20 million in checkoff funds since 1993 to battle continuing challenges created by E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogens. Due in part to these research and implementation efforts, incidence of E. coli O157:H7 was reduced 80 percent in the past five years—surpassing goals set by the government in this area, six years ahead of schedule.
• Food Communications. Behind-the-scenes work to provide editors with recipes, photos and beef information is a checkoff information effort that reaches consumers more than 1 billion times a year through newspapers, magazines, cookbooks and websites. The checkoff's very own culinary center aids the effort with recipe development and program support.
• Foodservice Partnerships. Partnerships with foodservice entities have earned great visibility for beef through savvy checkoff investment. A 2005 promotion with Boston Market helped introduce new sirloin items to the 630-store chain, previously known for its chicken entrees. During the last five years, the checkoff allocated about $2 million to foodservice partnerships, with restaurant partners investing nearly $123 million.
• Foreign Marketing. During the first 10 years of the checkoff, beef exports nearly tripled. The United States lost 72 of its 133 foreign markets following a December 2003 BSE case. By mid-2006, however, 50 of those markets had reopened and checkoff dollars immediately went to work to regain our market share.
• Instrument Assessment Plan. Hit-and-miss beef quality is not acceptable. A National Beef Instrument Assessment Plan helped generate information about how to measure such factors as intramuscular fat, subcutaneous fat and meat tenderness and provide the consumer with a predictable, pleasurable eating experience.
• Market Basket Survey. A 1987 checkoff-supported survey of beef marketing showed that beef contained 27 percent less fat than just a few years earlier. This information, which also showed that beef trim had been reduced to 1/8-inch, was featured in a USDA news briefing and video news release sent to 600 TV stations, providing significant positive exposure for beef.
• Market Research. Continuing research helps the industry monitor the attitudes and actions of customers. Market intelligence has helped drive development of beef products that are fast, convenient and meet consumers' expectations for a tender, delicious meal. Market research is at the heart of current efforts to roll out a handheld beef product in the near future that is kid-friendly and mom-approved.
• National Beef Cook-off. Amateur cooks nationwide submit hundreds of recipes for the biannual National Beef Cook-Off. This promotion event, funded in part through the checkoff, provides thousands of opportunities for publicity. Media coverage for the 2005 Cook-off generated more than 2,300 placements, equaling 357 million media impressions.
• New Product Promotion. The checkoff's BEEFlexible promotion helped move 103 million pounds of Beef Value Cuts through foodservice channels last year, putting the new products on the menu in some 20,000 U.S. restaurants. On the retail side, 5,000 supermarkets sold value cuts in 2005, up from just 321 in 2003.
• Nutrition Partnerships. Checkoff partnerships with the American Dietetic Association (ADA) and the American Heart Association (AHA) help make a difference in how health influencers and consumers perceive beef. The Healthy Beef Cookbook was produced via a checkoff information partnership with the ADA in 2005 and generated 80 million impressions in consumer media in its first six months on the market.
• Retail Assistance. A checkoff-funded promotion planner and merchandising guide, first introduced in the late 1980s, along with training sessions and the Beef Made Easy program materials, have helped retailers become more savvy beef and veal marketers.
