Research and Industry Information

As the Operating Committee’s review of proposals for checkoff funding in Fiscal 2009 kicked off this morning, national beef industry groups are coming to the table with their ideas. So far this morning, representatives of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the American National Cattlewomen have presented their proposals for checkoff-funded programs in the areas of research and industry information to the Operating Committee.

Research proposals — covering beef safety, product enhancement, nutrition, and market research — accounted for more than $5.36 million in proposed checkoff investment. In addition, three proposals, or “Authorization Requests” in the area of industry information — beef quality assurance, beef issues and image management, and the National Beef Ambassador program — represented another $1.62 million in proposed checkoff investment.

The breakdown of the proposals so far presented for Beef Board funding include:

RESEARCH:

• Beef Safety Research – $1,264,500: This includes development and implementation of safety threat research to enhance understanding of existing and new pathogens; funding of the Beef Industry Food Safety Council, which revises, updates and disseminates Best Practices to eliminate safety threats; and safety science monitoring, which examines research and applies learnings from U.S. and international scientists related to any safety threats and consumer confidence.
• Product Enhancement – $986,500: This proposal seeks checkoff for pre-harvest beef quality research and knowledge dissemination. The goal of this research area is to optimize pre-harvest management that enhances the quality of our end beef products and, accordingly, increases demand for them.
• Nutrition Research – $1,429,600: Plans and programs for human nutrition research designed to generate, monitor and disseminate nutrition research are included in this proposal. The goal is to strengthen beef’s position in the dietary guidelines, position our protein as a premier nutritional protein, and protect if from the potential impact of nutrition issues.
• Market Research – $1,237,600: Covered in this proposal are plans and programs for conducting research with consumers and other beef industry influences to provide the industry with insight into consumer and influencer attitudes and behavior, thus maintaining a strong marketing climate to help drive beef demand.

INDUSTRY INFORMATION:

• Beef Quality Assurance – $691,300: Funding requested for this proposal would allow continuation of the national Beef and Dairy Quality Assurance programs aimed at improving beef quality to maximize market opportuniuties for beef and dairy producers.
• Beef Issues Management – $754,100: This request seeks checkoff funding to continue monitoring and responding to issues that threaten consumer confidence in beef, as well as pro-active efforts to share the beef production story and put a face on the beef industry for consumers in urban areas nationwide.
• National Beef Ambassador Program – $100,000: This proposal would continue funding for a national “Beef Ambassador” contest that leverages beef industry youth in telling the positive beef story nationwide. That includes attending consumer events and talking to consumer groups of all ages to combat myths about beef with hard science.

Next up are proposals for consumer information and for foreign marketing. We’ll be back with more on that later.