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Beef Checkoff Helps Ensure Future for Cattlemen

By Chaley Harney, Executive Director, Montana Beef Council

Although most beef producers know a little something about what the Beef Checkoff Program does to build beef demand, there are still some folks who might not see how Checkoff programs impact their livelihood. One young Checkoff leader is convinced of the value the Beef Checkoff has to the future of her ranch.

Kim Brackett, Vice Chairman of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) and a rancher from Buhl, Idaho, is sometimes busy on horseback moving cattle, wrangling her four kids, sitting for a few minutes to write a blog, or working on the ranch alongside her husband, Ira. Just like the rest of the beef producers across the country, she’s busy virtually all of the time. Amidst her busy life, Brackett is a believer in the value of Checkoff demand-building programs and the difference they can make for beef-producing families like hers.

“This is our self-help program to promote beef. Nobody else is going to do it for us,” says Brackett. “We need to make sure as producers that we get out there and promote beef to our consumers, both domestically and globally. On the other hand, what the Checkoff does enhancing beef demand – that’s ensuring a future in this industry and my ranch for my children.”
A challenge now, however, is the reduction in checkoff collections with fewer cattle in the country. So, beef producers have to find ways to do more with less in promoting their end product across the board. Here are a few ways the Checkoff is accomplishing that:

Working with Retailers, Grocery Stores and Health Influencers

The Checkoff puts a great deal of emphasis on the value of partnerships, because they help share important beef messages with specific beef segments and often are paid mostly by the partner, using checkoff information or collateral. For example, the Beef Checkoff has collaborated with retailers to capitalize on the American Heart Association (AHA) Food Certification Program’s ability to drive incremental beef sales and build customer loyalty. Retailers are seeing firsthand the impact of the Checkoff program, the benefits of promoting beef’s role in a healthy diet and helping nutrition-conscious shoppers make nutritious choices at the meat case. Hundreds of stores across the U.S. are displaying the Heart-Check mark on certified beef items in their meat cases and have signed up through the Beef Checkoff to participate in the American Heart Association Food Certification Program.

On the foodservice side, the Checkoff currently is partnering with Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. to generate consumer excitement about Arby’s® new Smokehouse Brisket sandwich, the chain’s first-ever brisket product. After extensive consumer research showed a strong interest in smoked foods – particularly smoked meats and cheeses – Arby’s selected Beef Brisket as the centerpiece of its new limited-time offer and worked with the Checkoff to bring it to fruition.

Noting the importance of the health-professionals audience and its tendencies to recommend (or not recommend) beef, the national Checkoff collaborates with state beef councils, through the Nutrition Seminar Program, to making leading health experts available to speak about cutting-edge issues at various state academy of nutrition and dietetics meetings, as well as other health professional organization meetings. The 2013 season recently culminated with its final of 36 speaking engagements coordinated by various state beef councils.

Kristin Larson, rancher and auction market owner in eastern Montana, also shares Brackett’s passion for what the checkoff is doing for her own operations. “Marketing cattle is what we do every day at Prewitt & Co. and Sidney Livestock Market Center, which doesn’t allow us the time or resources to market beef to our consumers every day,” says Larson. “We offer services that producers don’t have the time or resources for because they are caring for their cattle and land … our checkoff works the same way. Our beef checkoff dollars do, in fact, focus on marketing beef and growing demand, allowing each segment of our industry to focus on what we do best.”
For more information about your beef checkoff investment, visit MyBeefCheckoff.com.