In the Chinese Zodiac, 2021 is known as the Year of the Ox. The Year of the Ox occurs every 12 years and is a year of ambition, relationships, and luck. According to the zodiac, it’s a year that with some hard work, should end well.

In a producer’s world, every day is defined by the Ox (cattle), with ambition, relationships, and even some luck playing an important role. While the Year of the Ox is considered good, producers don’t want to rely on astrology for success. They want, and need, consistency and something that will work reliably for them. So, as part of the 1985 Farm Bill (ironically, another Year of the Ox), they developed and passed the Beef Checkoff program.

Producers wanted a better way to promote their product, and the producers who constructed the Beef Checkoff did what they did with intent. They didn’t design the program to be untouchable or inaccessible to the folks paying into it. They wanted producers (and beef importers) to touch it daily…to operate it, control it, scrutinize it. It was built to serve all producers equally, regardless of operation size or type. Cow-calf, feeder, dairy, veal, and others all benefit from the Checkoff’s tireless work to grow demand and protect beef’s livelihood and viability in an increasingly competitive protein arena.

The program’s creators carefully crafted it to increase demand for beef through promotion, research, and education…nothing more. Could they have made it a fierce policy dragon? Perhaps. But policy rarely satisfies everyone, so they kept the Beef Checkoff wisely siloed and left the policy battles for lobbyists and membership organizations to fight.

Some view the Checkoff’s “promotion, research, and education” role as simplistic or ineffective, but the founders knew that when wielded properly, these are powerful tools. Anyone recall the Checkoff’s crisis management efforts during the BSE outbreak…or the Checkoff-funded muscle profiling research to increase overall carcass value? And there’s a reason beef exports topped a billion dollars in August for the first time in history. Would that have happened without the Checkoff promoting U.S.-produced beef in 80 countries worldwide?

It might be easy to sit back and criticize the Beef Checkoff for what it does or doesn’t do, but it was built to keep serving its producers and importers through projects and initiatives of their choosing. It will continue to do this with promotion, research, and education…and maybe even some ambition, relationships, and luck for good measure.

How Beef Checkoff Dollars Will Be Spent During Fiscal Year 2022

The Beef Promotion and Research Act and Order authorizes Beef Checkoff funds to only be spent in the following program areas: beef promotion, research, education, information and foreign-market development.

Each September, beef industry organizations present proposals – referred to as Authorization Requests, or “ARs” – to the Beef Promotion Operating Committee, comprised of members of the Cattlemen’s Beef

Board and the Federation of State Beef Councils, to request funding for year-long marketing, education and research projects in these program areas. The organizations approved for funding are referred to as Beef Checkoff contractors.

Currently, the Beef Checkoff has nine contractors and three subcontractors. The contractors and their programs and projects are approved within each of the program areas for the fiscal year 2022 (October 2021 to September 2022).

Industry Information

Strives for an accurate understanding of the beef industry and helps maintain a positive cattle-marketing climate.

NAMI

Builds discovery, access and confidence in veal and veal production. 2022 Funding: $74,210

NCBA

Communicates the message that real beef’s great taste and nutrition can’t be replicated, and addresses the myths around beef and beef production among various audiences. 2022 Funding: $2,473,820

NIAA

Supports the beef industry’s commitment to “One Health” – healthy humans, healthy animals – including the annual Antibiotics Symposium, which will focus on continued knowledge about responsible antibiotic use and the primary efforts aimed at combating antimicrobial resistance. 2022 Funding: $79,160

Consumer Information

Helps enhance beef’s image by sharing nutritional data and other positive messages with media, food editors, dietitians, physicians and others who influence consumers’ food knowledge.

AFBFA

Grows a scientifically-literate society through the beef-based STEM curriculum. Educators utilize STEM curriculum for their middle and high school students with plans for expansion into elementary classrooms this year. 2022 Funding: $926,000

MICA / NEBPI*

Builds beef consumption in highly populated Northeastern U.S. cities by working with restaurants and grocery store chains, marketing to specific consumer groups and garnering support from regional nutrition influencers. 2022 Funding: $494,760

NCBA

Increases consumer awareness of the Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. brand campaign and positions beef as the number one protein with restaurants, culinary leaders, grocery stores and other markets through media relations. 2022 Funding: $6,234,020

Promotion

Includes advertising, merchandising and new product development as well as training and promotional partnerships with restaurants and supermarkets that stimulate sales of beef and veal products.

NAMI / NYBC*

Facilitates innovative approaches for consumers to access and purchase veal and enhances veal eating experiences by creating meal solutions that capitalize on taste, value and versatility. 2022 Funding: $356,230

NCBA

Connects directly with consumers to promote beef through the iconic Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. campaign. Through beef marketing and merchandising, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. educates and inspires consumers to purchase, prepare and enjoy beef. 2022 Funding: $9,202,600

Research

The foundation for virtually all Checkoff-funded programs, this category of Checkoff projects provides science by providing science related to beef nutrition, beef safety and pathogen resistance.

FMPRE

Conducts post-harvest beef safety and science-based research on processed beef’s nutritional and health benefits. 2022 Funding: $500,000

NCBA

Continues to examine beef’s role in a healthy diet to share with the scientific and nutrition community, improves beef’s unique taste attributes and develops new recipes. 2022 Funding: $8,100,000

USCA / KSU*

This research will tackle the important areas surrounding consumer beef perceptions by looking into beef enrichment with omega-3 fatty acids. 2022 Funding: $210,000

Producer Communications

Informs producers and importers about how their Checkoff dollars are invested through a variety of efforts and initiatives.

CBB

Executes the producer communications program to convey to producers how their Beef Checkoff investment drives demand for beef. Producers engage with The Drive publishing platform, social media and thought leaders to access transparent and factual information on the Checkoff program. 2022 Funding: $1,850,000

Foreign Marketing

Develops international markets for U.S. beef through programs aimed at expanding international market penetration, gaining new market access, and improving global consumer perceptions.

USMEF

Maximizes market access for U.S. beef around the globe, develops demand among new and existing buyers overseas, and increases value of the entire carcass through export support. 2022 Funding: $8,400,000

American TV icon Ed Sullivan used to boast that viewers were about to witness “a really big show!” Well, a really big show came to Denver September 9-10, and as always, the Beef Promotion Operating Committee (BPOC) meeting, where the Beef Checkoff program funding decisions are made for the next fiscal year, didn’t disappoint.

Opponents of the Beef Checkoff have criticized the program for all sorts of things: being outdated, being unfair…even doing business behind closed doors. But anyone who follows the process or has attended a BPOC meeting knows nothing could be further from the truth.

Work conducted during the annual BPOC is the culmination of the beef industry’s entire year — the end result of hundreds and hundreds of volunteer hours from producers and importers, thousands of miles traveled, and hours upon hours of painstaking study and spirited debate. This year, the 20-member committee heard from nine potential contractors, both big and small, pitching 15 Authorization Requests that encompassed more than 50 tactics. From Producer Communications, Promotion, and Research to Foreign Marketing, and Consumer and Industry Information, every one of the ideas was carefully crafted to carry out the Beef Checkoff’s primary mission: to drive demand for beef.

Some proposals promised creative outreach solutions; others looked at ways to keep beef at the center of the plate, both here and abroad; still others dove into nutrition, sustainability, antibiotics, and other leading-edge scientific waters. There was something for every interest. Discussions were long and often impassioned as committee members tirelessly debated, probed, and debated some more to ultimately whittle down the funding requests by more than $8 million to match the projected budget. It was fiscal responsibility and accountability in action — and in today’s crazy world, that’s something to be proud of.

So, when the dust settled, did everyone get everything they wanted? Did anyone get everything they wanted? No. The reality is, it was the Beef Checkoff process as producers intended 35 years ago: an exercise in innovation, compromise, and finding the best possible ways to leverage producers’ and importers’ Checkoff dollars. Like all Checkoff business, the doors were wide open, and producers and importers were welcome to observe the proceedings. For anyone who wasn’t able to attend, you can see how it all shook out on the CBB website.