Beef Promotion Operating Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2022 Checkoff Plan of Work

The Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) will invest approximately $38.9 million into programs of beef promotion, research, consumer information, industry information, foreign marketing, and producer communications during fiscal 2022, subject to USDA approval.

In action at the end of its September 9-10 meeting in Denver, Colorado, the Beef Promotion Operating Committee (BPOC) approved Checkoff funding for a total of 13 “Authorization Requests” – or grant proposals – brought by 9 contractors and subcontractors for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2022. The committee, which includes 10 producers from the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and 10 producers from the Federation of State Beef Councils, also recommended full Cattlemen’s Beef Board approval of a budget amendment to reflect the split of funding between budget categories affected by their decisions.

Nine contractors and three subcontractors brought 15 Authorization Requests worth $47.4 million to the BPOC this week, nearly $8.5 million more than the funds available from the CBB budget.

“I know I speak for all of the cattlemen and women on the BPOC when I say we take our roles on this committee very seriously,” said CBB and BPOC Chair Hugh Sanburg. “We examine all of the Authorization Requests very carefully to determine which proposed initiatives and activities will provide the greatest return on Checkoff investments.

“Each year, we’re incredibly impressed by the amount of thought and innovation that our contractors put into their new plans. Our biggest challenge is determining how to allocate our limited amount of Checkoff dollars to these contractors so that we can make optimal progress toward our primary goal: driving beef demand. I personally thank all our contractors and committee members for their remarkable efforts and careful consideration as we make decisions that will propel the beef industry forward.”

In the end, the BPOC approved proposals from 9 national beef organizations for funding through the FY22 Cattlemen’s Beef Board budget, as follows:

• American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture – $926,000
• Cattlemen’s Beef Board – $1,850,000
• Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education – $500,000
• Meat Import Council of America / Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative – $494,760
• National Cattlemen’s Beef Association – $26,010,440
• National Institute for Animal Agriculture – $79,160
• North American Meat Institute – $430,440
• United States Cattlemen’s Association – $210,000
• United States Meat Export Federation – $8,400,000

Broken out by budget component – as outlined by the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985 – the FY22 Plan of Work for the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board budget includes:

• $9,558,830 for promotion programs, including beef and veal campaigns focusing on beef’s nutritional value, eating experience, convenience, and production.
• $8,810,000 for research programs focusing on pre- and post-harvest beef safety, scientific affairs, nutrition, sustainability, product quality, culinary technical expertise, and consumer perceptions.
• $7,654,780 for consumer information programs, including Northeast influencer outreach and public relations initiatives; national consumer public relations, including nutrition-influencer relations and work with primary- and secondary-school curriculum directors nationwide to get accurate information about the beef industry into classrooms of today’s youth. Additional initiatives include outreach and engagement with food, culinary, nutrition and health thought leaders; media and public relations efforts; and supply chain engagement.
• $2,627,190 for industry information programs, including dissemination of accurate information about the beef industry to counter misinformation from anti-beef groups and others, as well as funding for Checkoff participation in the annual national industrywide symposium about antibiotic use. Additional efforts in this program area include beef advocacy training and issues/crisis management and response.
• $8,400,000 for foreign marketing and education, focusing on 13 regions, representing more than 90 countries around the world.
• $1,850,000 for producer communications, which includes investor outreach using national communications and direct communications to producers and importers about Checkoff results. Elements of this program include ongoing producer listening and analysis; industry collaboration and outreach; and continued development of a publishing strategy and platform and a state beef council content hub.

The full fiscal 2022 Cattlemen’s Beef Board budget is approximately $42.7 million. Separate from the Authorization Requests, other expenses funded include $244,000 for program evaluation; $470,000 for program development; $200,000 for Checkoff communications resources; $550,000 for USDA oversight; $270,000 supporting services and litigation; and $2.1 million for CBB administration. The fiscal 2022 budget represents a decrease of approximately 1% percent, or $386,000, from the $43.1 million FY21 budget.