The Beef Industry Long Range Plan (LRP) is developed every three to five years and lays out aggressive goals to strengthen the beef industry. As part of this initiative, the Beef Checkoff interviewed cattlemen and women across the country to hear the checkoff is helping them for long-term success on their operations.
Townsend Ranch, Montana
On the Townsend family farm and ranch in Montana, the business brings together many generational views to be successful. Third-generation rancher, Will Townsend highlights the Beef Checkoff programs he says have been most influential for the beef industry.
“The Beef Checkoff has done a lot of things for the beef industry. The biggest thing, when you look at it from a 30,000 foot view, is that it has brought a lot of different segments together to promote beef,” says Townsend.
Finding market opportunities both foreign and domestic is a major focus of the Beef Checkoff. By investing dollars toward discovering consumer demand for different products in different regions of the world, the checkoff is driving demand for beef around the world.
“Domestic and foreign marketing is something that really probably wouldn’t be done by different segments of the industry without all of them coming together. Again, that probably wouldn’t have been done without the Beef Checkoff.”
How does the Beef Checkoff Help?
The Beef Checkoff plays an important role growing and maintaining beef demand, thus opening new opportunities for cattle producers to sustain their businesses for generations to come. That includes keeping close tabs on what consumers want in terms of end products, as well as sharing information regarding safe and sustainable beef production carried out by cattle producers — ensuring that’s what they find at the meat case when they go to purchase food for their families.
It’s no small task, but checkoff investments are part of the reason that beef demand has remained strong throughout the extremely tight supplies of recent years. In fact, a study by Dr. Harry Kaiser at Cornell University demonstrates that every checkoff dollar invested has a return on investment of $11.20. That means that every dollar invested by cattle producers returns $11.20 more to an operation than would have received without the checkoff in place.
Joplin Regional Stockyards is a family business involving two generations. Jackie Moore has worked at the stockyards since the 1970s, and he says the Beef Checkoff is crucial to promoting beef not only in the U.S., but worldwide.
Bill Barthle, third-generation rancher in San Antonio, Fla., says the Beef Checkoff helps explain to consumers how U.S. beef is produced. He feels increasing consumer knowledge and the demand for beef, along with working to increase producer support of the checkoff will all play a crucial role in passing the beef operation onto future generations.
The Byergo family credits the Beef Checkoff for protecting producers and finding new opportunities to grow the industry, as well as securing a future for the next generation.
From his family’s ranch in Chase County, Kansas, Joe Mushrush says he and his wife, Connie, are dedicated to creating a viable entity for any of the family’s future generations to return to the ranch and explains how the Beef Checkoff is helping them accomplish this goal.
Sam Hands says business planning for future generations is a critical part of the Triangle H ranch south of Garden City. Hands was one of the first six Beef Checkoff volunteer leaders from Kansas back in the checkoff’s first year in 1986.